Barbara Shermund: Working Girl

Yesterday at Heritage Auctions, a fine original cartoon by Barbara Shermund was sold. It's a color piece from her syndicated panel series that appeared in "The Cheering Section" of Pictorial Review for June 1, 1947.

"We had a terrible argument. I told him lots of girls kept right on with their jobs after marriage."
Barbara Shermund
Original art
Pictorial Review, June 1, 1947

The online bidding started strong almost two days before the live bidding.

Barbara Shermund
Heritage Auctions listing accessed November 17, 2025, almost two days before the sale

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/illustrations/barbara-shermund-pictorial-review-january-1949-single-panel-gag-cartoon-illustration-original-art-king/a/322547-48264.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116

Barbara Shermund
Heritage Auctions item description

Sold!

January 22, 2025 Update:  Yesterday, D. D. Degg of The Daily Cartoonist posted a black-and-white scan of the newsprint cartoon from newspapers.com dated June 1, 1947. I have corrected the publication date above accordingly.

05128

Barbara Shermund: Trophy Wall

An original color cartoon by Barbara Shermund changed hands on eBay three months ago for $700. It depicts two men, one proudly showing off his fishing trophies to the other. The wall display includes a mounted mermaid. I confess I can't make out a word of the caption, but the keen-eyed seller apparently can.

"And there's one, my boy, that gave me quite a battle!"
Barbara Shermund
Original art
Pictorial Review, released November 9, 1947

It's a little dark, no?

Barbara Shermund's signature

Verso
PR indicates Pictorial Review.
Release date November 9, 1947

My, my. This drawing has seen the auction block before.

Barbara Shermund
eBay listing ended July 1, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/266886852787?_skw=Yorker+signed&itmmeta=01J8GYN4WRJA45XQ2V0HPPNTDG&hash=item3e23b230b3:g:IcYAAOSw6e1mCCbN&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnJJj7Ls5uzbz9NWBywR8NdDRYDq7VwCuPwLZ8y0FdPRdzx1IzR9ujYFwzByWKc2RnF%2B3xs0vfiIH

qRjV5%2FlEcpgNHQVt2FQEMq6Fp1ZtkaV8S8x9LGwFT93DeNYXeH10ubPvfbV8CmphinSRe6m4XvQGAxEc0ShQM%2Bqjg4fJl6MBxw1PotY1SzOhTlGeuzdNtUqpiuUZXuDcR9QYXp5AGD9bzrvAPhWiQuC2jbxAUlPmfeXhpj4CiDeswi61ln%2FmY%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR77O1J7EZA

Barbara Shermund
eBay item description

This original was one of five Shermund items related to angling presented by the artist in August 1949 "To Al Mayer, the champ fisherman of Todd's jetty" in Seabright, New Jersey. They were sold together at Doyle in 2002. The present cartoon is here referred to only as The Prize. (The scarcely-readable caption is hidden behind the matte.) The drawing has since lost its frame.

Barbara Shermund
Doyle, European and American Paintings, December 10, 2002, lot 161

https://www.doyle.com/auction/lot/lot-161---barbara-shermund-1910-1978-i-fishermans/?lot=845676&so=4&st=Shermund&sto=0&au=&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=1&pp=96&pn=1&g=1

Within a few hours of my posting this cartoon, Jeff Nelson came through with an image of the Shermund's Sallies page. It's in black and white because it had been stored on library microfiche sans color and uploaded thus to the newspapers.com website. I have now corrected, slightly, the eagle-eyed eBay seller's caption.

"And there's one, my boy, that gave me quite a battle!"

* * *

"I just proposed to Henry, Father—has he your blessing?"

Barbara Shermund

Shermund's Sallies

Pictorial Review, November 11, 1947, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph

Newspapers.com image provided by Jeff Nelson

Note:  I'd still love to see how this page appeared in color. Please get in touch if you have the corresponding November 9 (or later), 1947 issue of Pictorial Review in your archive. I'm fresh out.

It would be so great to get a better look at Barbara Shermund's sketchbook from the Doyle auction. Would the present owner please step forward?

For that matter, all sorts of original art by Shermund are of interest to the readers (and the writer) of this blog. I would be only too happy to post some more images here of Shermund creations. Please send along what you've got, my boy.

04755 

Barbara Shermund: Going Along With a Gag

Lot 271 was the second lot of Barbara Shermund original cartoon art to be offered on February 22 at Willow Auction House. Like the previous lot, it is a panel from Shermund's Sallies in Pictorial Review and it comes from the Angela Gross Folk collection. Shermund's 1951 composition gives us a glimpse of the new postwar suburban prosperity. The home is elegantly furnished, the garden is well landscaped, and the couple is fashionably dressed. But there's still a place for some good, old-fashioned sarcasm.

"Mother says she can go along with a gag, and she sends in her best too."
Barbara Shermund
Original cartoon art
Shermund's Sallies
Pictorial Review, July 25, 1951

"Mother says she can go along with a gag, and she sends in her best too."
Barbara Shermund
Original cartoon art
Shermund's Sallies
Pictorial Review, July 25, 1951

Detail of man with newspaper

Detail of woman with telephone

Barbara Shermund's signature

Handwrittern caption:  "Mother says she can go along with a gag, and she sends in her best too."

Verso

Shermund['s] Sallies
Rel[ease] July 25[, 1951]

P[ictorial] R[eview]
7/25/1951

Barbara Shermund
Willow Auction House listing ended February 22, 2024

https://willowauctionhouse.hibid.com/lot/185191943/barbara-shermund-pictorial-review-sallies-cartoon?ref=catalog

Barbara Shermund
Willow Auction House item description

04592

Barbara Shermund: Seeing What Develops

Three original works by Barbara Shermund from the Angela Gross Folk collection were sold yesterday at Willow Auction House in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. Each is a full-color, single-panel cartoon. The first of these, depicting a photographer in his studio with a pretty young woman posing for him, is from the weekly syndicated newspaper insert Pictorial Review, which ran a regular series called Shermund's Sallies. The colors remain fresh but, even in 1946, this gag must have seemed pretty old.

"And now, Miss Gibson, have you ever wondered what goes on in a dark-room?"
Barbara Shermund
Original cartoon art
Pictorial Review, c. December 8, 1946

"And now, Miss Gibson, have you ever wondered what goes on in a dark-room?"
Barbara Shermund
Original cartoon art
Pictorial Review, c. December 8, 1946

Detail

Barbara Shermund's signature

Handwritten caption:  "And now, Miss Gibson, have you ever wondered what goes on in a dark-room?"

Verso

P[ictorial] R[eview]
Release Dec. 8/46

Barbara Shermund
Willow Auction House listing ended February 22, 2024

https://willowauctionhouse.hibid.com/lot/185191942/barbara-shermund-pictorial-review-cartoon?ref=catalog

04591

Barbara Shermund: A Shermund's Sallies Flong

In relief printing, a flong is a temporary negative mould made of a forme of set type, in order to cast a metal stereotype (or "stereo") which can be used in a rotary press, or in letterpress printing after the type has been broken down for re-use. The process is called stereotyping.

—Wikipedia

I couldn't have said it better. All of which begs the question, why would anyone wish to keep a flong after it had served its original purpose? There are one hundred ninety flong listings on eBay right now but the one of interest to us is from Pictorial Review in 1946. A flong of two facing pages from October 6 correspond to the cartoon feature Shermund's Sallies by Barbara Shermund and to the Hollywood column by Louella Parsons. It seems plain that one of these two features is the reason for the flong being retained by somebody all these years. So what was it, gags or gossip?

"Thanks—I'll wear it."
* * *
"That's the fourth proposal she's received this week!"
Barbara Shermund
Shermund's Sallies
Flong from Pictorial Review, October 6, 1946

"Thanks—I'll wear it."
* * *
"That's the fourth proposal she's received this week!"
Barbara Shermund
Shermund's Sallies
Flong for Pictorial Review, October 6, 1946

Barbara Shermund
eBay listing accessed March 23, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/223648238152?hash=item3412794a48:g:FTYAAOSwHzNdbTn7

Barbara Shermund
eBay item description

Note:  We have seen the flong. Now we need to see the newsprint. Please check your old piles of newspaper for the October 6, 1946 issue of Pictorial Review, particularly the page with Shermund's Sallies by Barbara Shermund and the Hollywood column by Louella Parsons.

03914