Sight Unseen: Palookaville No. 21 With an Original Drawing by Seth

A copy of Palookaville No. 21 offered by Hourglass Books caught my eye on line. Priced at $50 with AbeBooks, it offered the promise of an original drawing by Seth, albeit of a hat and a lit cigarette. I like Seth's graphic work almost as much as I dislike cigarettes. On hats, I'm personally indifferent, but I admire those men who can project a personal sense of style to the world. The hat and cigarette, I readily surmised, were a stand-in for Seth himself. There was no image of the drawing, alas, but I took the plunge and bought it anyway—sight unseen.

As much as I like Seth's graphic novels, I can't say I've ever read Palookaville. It is, give or take, an annual forum presenting the artist's work in progress. This one was published in October 2013. From the two gentlemen on the cover, this book evidently contains some material from Clyde Fans. The bookseller confirms this.

Seth
AbeBooks listing

Seth
AbeBooks listing ended June 15, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Palookaville-%2321-Seth-Drawn-Quarterly-Montreal/14768924842/bd

Seth
AbeBooks item description

So, you may well ask, how did it go? Well, the bookseller searched high and low for this one, he wrote me, but he was unable to locate it. Perhaps he sold it previously and lost track of it. He was as nice as could be, refunding my money for this book as well as for another book by Seth, George Sprott (1894-1975), that I ordered and that he did indeed have on hand, although perhaps in imperceptibly lesser condition than advertised. So, no complaints on my end, except that I can't show you the drawing in Palookaville No. 21 as I proudly add the book to my library. When I started this post, I didn't intend for it to end so anticlimactically, but that is sometimes the nature of these Sight Unseen musings. Perhaps I'll have something better to show off when that copy of George Sprott arrives . . . any day now.  

05299

Sight Unseen: Lee Lorenz's Old Farts Are Forever, Signed

Yes, that's the title. Old Farts Are Forever is a 2009 cartoon collection by Lee Lorenz, then the former cartoon editor of The New Yorker. An unspecified number of the cartoons are from the magazine. A signed copy of the book listed on eBay caught my eye late in December. Reportedly signed and inscribed by the author, but with no images other than a stock photo of the cover, I decided to add it to my collection of interesting books purchased sight unseen. With a $10.98 purchse price and free shipping, it was not a huge gamble on my part. At worst, I'd end up with a new book I was unfamiliar with.

Stock Image

Lee Lorenz
AbeBooks item accessed December 27, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Old-Farts-Forever-Lorenz-Lee-Andrews/32364396548/bd

Lee Lorenz
AbeBooks item description

The book arrived Wednesday. It is signed "Best, Lee Lorenz" in the former editor's barely-legible hand. Anyway, it checks out as legit. And it's got some excellent cartoons.

05175

Sight Unseen: Four Books by Liza Donnelly

Back on March 20, Wonder Book of Frederick, Maryland, listed two children's books by the New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly. They were signed and reasonably priced with zero shipping charges. Then, on October 18, two additional books of hers were listed, also signed, similarly priced, and this time for grown ups. It was then that I noticed the two earlier books. Each listing was illustrated only with a stock image. It is the author's frequent practice to include sketches in her signed books, but there was no indication whether any of these books had them. Still, with the books priced between $5.99 and $7.99, there didn't seem to be much of a downside risk. I boldly made my move.

Stock Image

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks listing accessed October 18, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Hippo-Yard-Read-Liza-Donnelly-Holiday/32157847714/bd

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks item description

Now that they have arrived, I can show you the books. A Hippo in Our Yard is the only book of the four with an Autographed Copy sticker.

It is indeed signed, but it also has a small, delightful drawing.

Previously on the blog, we've seen copies of Cartoon Marriage signed by both authors, Donnelly and her New Yorker cartoonist husband Michael Maslin. Both cartoonists added drawings, together generally in some variation of a couple toasting each other. But this copy, we already know, is signed only by Donnelly.

Stock image

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks listing accessed October 18, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Cartoon-Marriage-Adventures-Love-Matrimony-New/32322829187/bd

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks item description

Dedicated to Cathy and Spence, this book has a drawing by Donnelly of a woman raising a glass—solo.

The End of the Rainbow is another children's title.

Stock image

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks listing accessed October 18, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/End-Rainbow-Read-Liza-Donnelly-Holiday/32157851120/bd

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks item description

The book is signed with a drawing of a cat.

Finally, there's When Do They Serve the Wine?: The Folly, Flexibility, and Fun of Being a Woman (2010).

Stock image

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks listing accessed October 18, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/When-Serve-Wine-Folly-Flexibility-Fun/32322840421/bd

Liza Donnelly
AbeBooks item description

The drawing is, once again, a woman making a toast:

05104

Sight Unseen: Reporting by David Remnick

There was yet a third book I bought sight unseen from Dave's Books of Brooklyn last month, another reasonably-priced volume of particular interest to readers of The New Yorker. (The first two were posted on Tuesday and Wednesday.) Reporting: Writings From The New Yorker (2006) by the magazine's current editor, David Remnick, was signed by the author and priced at $15.95. As before, the listing on AbeBooks was illustrated with a stock photo only. The seller made up for that with an insightful description: "inscribed ('Best wishes D. Remnick[']—the signature is kind of a scrawl and hard to read) by the author on the title page." That's good enough for me.

Stock Photo

David Remnick
AbeBooks listing accessed September 21, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Reporting-Writings-New-Yorker-Remnick-David/30740451188/bd

David Remnick
AbeBooks item description

Here's then is a photograph of the book I received. There are no surprises, right?

05099

Sight Unseen: Lea and Everett Raymond Kinstler's Copy of Here at The New Yorker by Brendan Gill

Brendan Gill's Here at The New Yorker was published in 1975 to celebrate the magazine's fiftieth anniversary. It served as my introduction to The New Yorker's rich history. Aside from the many artistic, literary, and corporate characters we learn about, there is Daniel H. Silberberg, whom Gill describes as "an advisor to both the editorial and business sides of the magazine." In a discussion of his work during the years under Harold Ross's editorial leadership, Silberberg is depicted in a portrait by the painter Everett Raymond Kinstler. 

On February 10, 1975, Gill inscribed a copy of the newly-published book to Kinstler and his wife Lea. It turned up on AbeBooks last month in a listing from Dave's Books of Brooklyn. It was illustrated only by a stock photo. This photo shows the wonderful dust jacket by Charles Addams, but the actual book that was offered for sale had lost this dust cover some time over the past half century. Of course, the endpaper still has the inscription from Gill and, priced at only $10.44, the volume was a piece of New Yorker history I felt I should buy—even sight unseen—in this, the magazine's centennial year.

Stock photo

Brendan Gill
AbeBooks listing accessed September 21, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/New-Yorker-Gill-Brendan-Random-House/30496819507/bd

Brendan Gill
AbeBooks item description

Gill's inscription has been discolored, probably from his 1997 Times obituary being stored directly against it.

Kinstler's painting is reproduced on page 191.

Gill's stated concern that the picture credits treat Kinstler's portrait as if it were "a mere photograph" seems a little overblown to me:

Gill's obituary from the Times came loosely folded into the book:

Also found in the book is this short promotional biography of the artist with his portrait of John Wayne.

05098

Sight Unseen: Lore's Copy of Edward Koren's Do You Want to Talk About It?

The idea behind Sight Unseen posts is pretty simple: I select a book that sounds visually appealing even though I actually cannot see what it looks like. In the case of Edward Koren's cartoon collection Do You Want to Talk About It? (1976), there was only a stock photo in the AbeBooks listing I found on September 21, but no image of the actual book being offered. Instead, there was the enticing description "with a drawing by the author on the ffep [front free endpaper]" provided by Dave's Books of Brooklyn. Although there were some condition issues, the price seemed reasonable enough, $45.44 plus $5.50 shipping. Should I buy it without asking to see the Koren drawing? Of course I should.

Edward Koren
AbeBooks listing accessed September 21, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Want-Talk-Koren-Edward-Pantheon/32305436960/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=readmore

Edward Koren
AbeBooks item description

Now, one month later, we have the information we need. The transaction can be reassessed in light of the drawing. Me, I'm going to call this one a win.

05097

Sight Unseen: A Witch's Copy of Nightcrawlers by Charles Addams

This may come as a surprise, but I have a predilection for Charles Addams books. If a bookseller from all the way in the U.K. comes along and offers me a copy of Addams's 1957 collection Nightcrawlers adding that it's  "signed by the Author and dedicated," who am I to say, "Sorry, not interested?" But the price, $52.03, seems a little too good to be true. Why? As for the shipping cost from the U.K. of $6.02, ditto. And there are a number of unanswered questions that I just won't ask, not wishing to tip off the seller to the potential giveaway at hand.

As the listing's single photograph shows—well, it doesn't reveal all that much. There is the question of condition. How could a signed Addams collection, surely the pride of any library, lose its dust cover? Well, it does happen; we've seen it. Then there's the question of authenticity: why wouldn't an internet-savvy bookseller show a photo of the prized Addams inscription? And finally, there is always some intrigue about the recipient. Is it one of the artist's high society friends? A lover? A celebrity? My approach to these conundrums is to plan to put the book in a Sight Unseen post and then to go ahead and order it. When it arrives, I report to the readership on the outcome.

Charles Addams
AbeBooks listing accessed November 23, 2023

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Nightcrawlers-Charles-Addams-Hamish-Hamilton/31708363957/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook

Charles Addams
AbeBooks item description

The book has arrived, allowing me to photograph the front free endpaper complete with purported Addams signature and inscription:

For those who may not be clear on the key point here, this is neither Addams's handwriting nor his signature. There has been an unfortunate confluence in 2023: three books that I ordered Sight Unseen, two of them by Edward Gorey and this one, lacked the authentic artist signatures I had been led to expect. The two major reasons for this are some combination of bookseller carelessness and buyer avarice. To the credit of World of Rare Books, my money was refunded in full and I was not even asked to return the book. 

04542

Sight Unseen: A Signed First Edition of Edward Gorey's The Other Statue

Edward Gorey's The Other Statue (1968) is marketed as The Secrets: Volume One. There are no further volumes nor, apparently, were any seriously intended, but it's an intriguing conceit. The book was collected in Amphigorey Again (2006) and has also been reprinted on its own. It is striking to find a signed first edition offered for $30 by Ken Sanders Rare Books of Salt Lake City. The original retail price was $3.00.

The listing has an excellent seller image of the book with its mysterious cover illustration, but it lacks a photograph of Gorey's signature. This then belongs to my ongoing Sight Unseen project. Rather than ask sellers for additional images which might tip them off to how good a deal they are offering, I dive in headlong and then report my findings here. There are risks involved but potentially satisfying rewards.

Edward Gorey
AbeBooks listing accessed November 4, 2023
https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Secrets-Volume-One-Statue-Gorey-Edward/31691961612/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=readmore_low

The book arrived with no evidence of a Gorey signature, alas.

The bookseller was very easy to deal with. The book had been listed incorrectly and I received a mailing label for a postage paid return via USPS. My money was refunded in full once they received the book back.

This happened twice to me this year with Gorey books that were supposedly signed but priced unrealistically low. The problem is a combination of seller carelessness and buyer greed. Hey, I'm looking for a good deal.

04525