Surroundsound is a cartoon by Roz Chast that was published on "The Back Page" of The New Yorker in the issue of April 2, 2001. The original art was sold at Heritage Auctions on November 4.
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| Roz Chast Heritage Auctions listing accessed the night before the sale |
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| Roz Chast Heritage Auctions item description |
There was a time when full page cartoons could appear in the magazine without much fanfare. In the modern era, they seem to require a special feature.
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| "The Back Page" by Roz Chast |
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Roz Chast's rough for her New Yorker cover of April 6, 2009 was sold at Heritage Auctions on November 4 in the Signature Illustration Art sale. The subject is right there on the strap: April Fool!
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The night before the auction, online bidding had reached an impressive $2,100—that comes to $2,625 with the buyer's premium.
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| Roz Chast Heritage Auction listing accessed seventeen hours prior to the sale |
Note: The artwork comes from the estate of Marlene Meyerson of Dallas, also Heritage's headquarters. Her 2017 obituary was in the Dallas Morning News.
Gallerist Julie Saul, whose name is on the subscription label of the framed cover, passed away in 2022. Her obituary was in the New York Times.
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On June 16, I was truly enthralled by a short preview of the documentary film "Women Laughing." This was shown at a Swann Salon, an event the night before the most recent Illustration Art auction at Swann Galleries. The film's subjects are the women cartoonists of The New Yorker. The short film was then a work in progress by a talented team led by cartoonist and author Liza Donnelly.
The following month I made a pledge of $200 towards the film's postproduction Kickstarter campaign (plus $5 to ship the reward I readily accepted in exchange). My feelings toward crowdfunding have softened over the years. It has now become clear to me that many worthy projects could never see the light of day without it.
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| "Women Laughing" Postproduction Kickstarter Campaign accessed July 19, 2025 |
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An ebay listing offered six publications, four of them cartoon-rich editions from The New Yorker, one New Yorker magazine, and one New York University Bulletin. The bulletin, magazine, and bookazines date from 2010 to 2015. In five of them, either Roz Chast, Matthew Diffee, or Jules Feiffer signed next to or on their own artwork in print. It's the kind of collection that would be nearly impossible to assemble today if it weren't already there for the taking. Yet it proved difficult to sell.
Of the six publications, the NYU Bulletin is probably the hardest to find, but there can't be much demand:
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| Six assorted signed cartoon volumes eBay listing accessed September 21, 2025 |
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| Six assorted signed cartoon volumes eBay item description |
The set had been languishing on eBay since December 2023. Decisive action clearly was needed.  |
| Sold for a best offer of $35.00. |
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I don't know who Sean may be, but his copy of The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons (1998) was quite special. It was sold on eBay on September 11. The dust jacket art is by Michael Witte.
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| Title page |
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| Facing cartoons by Danny Shanahan and James Stevenson |
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| Cartoons by Tom Cheney and Donald Reilly |
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| Cartoons by Jack Ziegler and, again, Stevenson |
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| A cartoon by Bernard Schoenbaum and the roster of cartoonists in the book |
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| Back cover cartoon by Lee Lorenz |
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| The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons eBay listing ended September 11, 2025 |
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| The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons eBay item description |
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