Anatol Kovarsky: Fourth of July Fireworks at Coney Island

Anatol Kovarsky's New Yorker cover for the issue of July 6, 1963, shows a lone fireworks barge off Coney Island illuminating the night sky on the Fourth of July. The original art was sold by the CartoonBank on November 14, 2006 with a letter attesting that its value at the time was $9,000, presumably the selling price. This spring it came to eBay professionally framed alongside the printed magazine cover.

The colors in the waves off Coney Island may have faded over time. It is also possible that the colors were enhanced in The New Yorker's printing process.

The seller's asking price on April 1 was $12,000 or Best Offer. 

Anatol Kovarsky
eBay listing accessed April 1, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306850543292?

Anatol Kovarsky
eBay item description

The seller was apparently new to the auction site. Within a day, the price was cut in half.

April 2

By April 7, the price was reduced another $200.

April 7

Next came $5,200:

April 9?

The seller next raised the price to $5,500, in order to make a seller offer of $500 off. Thus it sold on April 19 for the seller offer of $5,000.

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The New Yorker WETA Book of Cartoons

WETA, owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, is the public television station of our nation's capital. In 2004, the station chose to up its game and commissioned the Cartoon Bank to create The New Yorker WETA Book of Cartoons. It is neither very rare nor very common, but two copies of it were spotted in February on eBay.

Front cover cartoon by Mick Stevens
The New Yorker WETA Book of Cartoons

The back cover's cartoon is also by Mick Stevens! What are the chances of that?

Cartoons by Al Ross and Mischa Richter

The New Yorker WETA Book of Cartoons
eBay listing accessed February 9, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18518557123...

The New Yorker WETA Book of Cartoons
eBay item description

Staten Island cartoonist Aaron Bacall (1939-2015) caught my eye at the top of the Index of Artists. According to Ink Spill, he is a member of the One Club, a cartoonist who had one—and only one—cartoon published in The New Yorker. In his case, it's a gag about a mobile phone. It's a good one, but what on earth could it be doing here in the WETA book?

The answer is that it isn't here. Instead we have this cartoon:

Is Bacall then actually a member of some "Two Club?" He is not. His Kermit cartoon is listed as unpublished. You might very well ask why an unpublished gag is included in a New Yorker collection. I'll have to get back to you on that.

One final note: as a native New Yorker, I'm proud to say that WNET New York's collection was published in 2003, beating WETA by a year.

Covers by Frank Modell and Mick Stevens

Note:  The history of the Cartoon Bank's privately-published collections is shrouded in mystery. How many are there? (Ink Spill quotes a Cartoon Bank employee as answering, "like a thousand," here.) How small were the press runs? It's a muddle, because some books in the series were distributed nationally and others may have been given out only at a single event. I would like to hear, of course, from anyone with the answers. I'd also like to see collections published by other PBS stations and I'd like to hear about other Cartoon Bank collections which might also contain, heaven forfend, any previously unpublished cartoons. (If there is a New Yorker Book of Unpublished Cartoons, I want to see it!) Also curious is the appearance of one cartoonist on the front and back covers. Did this happen more than once?

Michael Maslin's Ink Spill tribute written on the passing of One Clubber Aaron Bacall may be found here. Check out his, Bacall's, only New Yorker cartoon. Only published New Yorker cartoon, that is.

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Roz Chast: Presidents' Day Sale

The Purple Pussycat Boutique, Roz Chast's fictitious sex shop, is based on the Pink Pussycat Boutique located on West 4th Street in the Village. The gag in which the store appeared was published in The New Yorker of February 9, 1998, when the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was making headlines. The drawing was part of an unusual two-page cartoon feature with multiple contributors called "Further Revelations."

The original art was sold by the Cartoon Bank in August of 2000 with a stated valuation of $1,200. It was first offered on eBay in November of 2020. The asking price was $1,500 in April of 2021, but it subsequently came down to $1,100. It sold in August 2021 for an undisclosed best offer. Comparison of the original art with the published cartoon reveals that the magazine corrected the placement of the apostrophe in Presidents' Day.

Roz Chast
Original art
The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

Roz Chast's signature

The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

Roz Chast
eBay listing ended August 9, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/402990611165?mkpid=0&emsid=e11060.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=e1fea423d8a04ca1b090bcf396bb6410&bu=43186000575&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20210718121745&segname=11060&sojTags=ch%3Dch%2Cbu%3Dbu%2Cosub%3Dosub%2Ccrd%3Dcrd%2Csegname%3Dsegname%2Cchnl%3Dmkcid&nma=true&si=64J6TuENCQvl%252FEQuIbsoMEcDQlw%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Roz Chast
eBay item description

Roz Chast
The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

Roz Chast
Original art
The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

"Further Revelations"
Cartoons by Peter Steiner, Donald Reilly, Danny Shanahan, Edward Frascino, Roz Chast, and Bob Mankoff

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1998-02-09/flipbook/070/

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Jack Ziegler: A Bit Out of Your Price Range

In 2001, the Cartoon Bank sold Jack Ziegler's New Yorker original published in the issue of April 30, 1979. Bob Mankoff, the founder and president of the Cartoon Bank, asserted the drawing's value at the time to be $1200 and provided a certificate of authenticity. An unexpected bonus was a hand-written letter from Mr. Ziegler to the purchaser explaining how the cartoon came about. He wrote: 

This drawing was done while I was in my thirties & had a great fear of being humiliated should I happen into a jewelry store & ask to take a closer look at something. I was always certain the price would be $200 more than I could afford. It usually was.

I'm in my fifties now and still have the same problem...

That's probably a fairly common feeling. Anyone venturing into a jewelry store this time of year in search of an impressive Valentine's Day gift has probably experienced something similar.

"This one might be a bit out of your price range, sir. It costs eighteen zillion dollars."
Jack Ziegler
Original art
The New Yorker, April 30, 1979
Filthy Little Things, 1981

Jack Ziegler's signature

Jack Ziegler
eBay listing retrieved January 7, 2019

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-art-framed-New-Yorker-Cartoon-By-Jack-Ziegler-1979-with-certification/232917644919?hash=item363af93677:g:BJwAAOSwj4dbkFSz:rk:14:pf:0

Jack Ziegler
eBay item description

Cartoons by Jack Ziegler and Jean-Jacques Sempé

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1979-04-30/flipbook/032/

Jack Ziegler

"Late Night with David Letterman"

June 20, 1983

This cartoon is discussed beginning at 3:45

Video added August 30, 2021

With thanks to Jessica Ziegler

Note:  I lost track of this eBay sale two years ago and therefore cannot report the outcome. I would like to hear from anyone who knows whether this artwork was sold or what its current whereabouts are.

Original art by Jack Ziegler is often brilliant, funny, and less intimidating than a trip to the jewelry shop. If you'd like to show off some Ziegler art here on the blog, I'm your man.

I like the idea of artists writing notes that provide insights into their published cartoons. Was this a common practice with art sales at the Cartoon Bank? Does it continue? If anyone would like to share a cartoonist's note about a specific cartoon, well, I'm still your man.

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