Thomas Eastwood: No Turns Sign

Another original New Yorker spot drawing by Thomas Eastwood was sold on eBay a year ago. It was published circa 1930 to 1945 and shows what was likely a typical city road sign of the era. Reading "No Turns," the sign was illuminated, we see, by a gas lamp. The art has on old $30 price tag on the back, but in the current era it sold for $120.

Thomas Eastwood
eBay listing ended March 14, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304816928914?hash=item46f8813892:g:1oYAAOSwT6lj7p~9&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwCKuJE6henLqVfDHsY5fuixDzSiBq5bge1Jab13mSOB5isDxSAHEnIS3okgb5%2BCcKabA2hnE9cW2BaHJ1aojo%2BcPrRE%2BeOz%2FFDHfPm8XKRzGESBhn25rqVN0C

4qieXzXBmp7fYy8xb7n3R%2B3W9SoskqkjoeIdre%2FBrp4SpFpxthMJkeCYLRloW6Z6mjKfrzaeyaVNm0REbcvP5lga0vb5QpLthVKr%2F9CkLXEUKGbrUDRtg3rHVkmUkG63lQ%2BLNVk%2Fw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7yOnrSSYg

Thomas Eastwood
eBay item description

Note:  In which issue of The New Yorker did this spot appear? Show me a sign.

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Thomas Eastwood: The View From the Pier

Thomas Eastwood's scratchboard illustration of a pier was published as a New Yorker spot drawing some time between 1930 and 1945, according to the eBay seller of the original art. The composition is simple and all the elements appear instantly recognizable.

Thomas Eastwood
eBay listing ended March 4, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304816928051?hash=item46f8813533:g:ENIAAOSwsHRj7p-P&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwJBXZjU8wsw1lkav%2Bndo6cUKJNOCUD9hAGUaYlhgal4%2BH7N3rIkZoPBUXyLQSOeTW%2BLE2AMCwhuLCzjn5rbJuFHedd7AHyy%2FGBTk7oKzvUcnbeN%2BhNJZ4rcDjHxPUElfYwbX

x2a3m%2BklDWytbBHhB2YlCWLRUIZMWmF7DnQco7XUYMwA9BcRPNtWwha72S%2BPQD0WSCT8RdY5348VUDkOipxzhQ2%2FA31wZJQI2n1zgSO%2FsW49vmoziB8g9s1nF2icqQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7yOnrSSYg

Thomas Eastwood
eBay item description

Note:  Locating spot drawings in the vast archives of The New Yorker is one of those challenges that, frankly, defeat me. Google Image Search isn't much help. Can AI do the job? Potentially, I'd guess yes, if it were familiar with the visual elements in the magazine's data base. But until technology solves these problems, I'm going to continue to ask readers to inform me if they know when this spot was published.

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Thomas Eastwood: Holiday Packages

An original New Yorker spot drawing by Thomas Eastwood depicts Christmas packages too numerous for a neighborhood mailbox to accomodate.

At one time, a price tag of $40 was affixed to the back of this art. In May on the eBay auction site, it was priced at $165 with a Best Offer option.

EBay does not disclose best offers, even when they are accepted.

Thomas Eastwood
eBay listing ended May 24, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/30483312180?hash=item46fa13cc34%3Ag%3AYhkAAOSwOf5kE5xX&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4AUchOYHMAdl%2BRgFV8lGhhDiSp5PKgVlmTuJbm%2F9P33GAnpjOvnRghbGHD140kYJfZItpjAKNN4M9%2Bxu9qlrKiJgny7sCEa5AzPyma

QVorEGMsqq0jnsEKDPMHQ8uJ%2FGb86t2NaAjtC8zZSYRwJkN%2B03Imql9iU2J9GhZR7gG3wk%2FLRMWBIthO7%2F3ekI34o4La8HqX1e4zskYKRN1wooe%2F1WcR3W7AyVtdvaJTJjfoKxbnu5%2FJmUaMPy3b%2FZtgUPr2boR%2FccAuXHxG

%2FzKd6ocmILiHGENf9pfpxijdf9l9Mj%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9SUsKu8Yg&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Thomas Eastwood
eBay item description

The Eastwood spot is currently available from Curated Cartoons. The artwork has been rephotographed. Now the images are in sharp focus, revealing even the texture of the paper.

The verso includes a preliminary sketch of a tugboat.

The new listing helpfully includes the artwork's publication date, one of the more difficult pieces of information to track down with only the season and the era known. We now can appreciate that the art was published eighty-five years ago in the back pages of the magazine.

Thomas Eastwood
Curated Cartoons listing accessed December 7, 2023

https://www.curatedcartoons.com/collections/gold-era/products/holiday-mail-spot-illustration

Spot drawing by Thomas Eastwood

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1938-12-10/flipbook/138/

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Thomas Eastwood: Finding the Right One

A woman tries on a hairband in a vintage spot drawing by Thomas Eastwood. She is shown holding a mirror up to her hair while standing behind a display of small hats. The artwork is believed to have been published in the pages of The New Yorker between 1930 and 1945. It was sold on eBay in March for a best offer under $99.

Thomas Eastwood
eBay listing ended March 14, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304803578810?hash=item46f7b583ba:g:NN8AAOSwp3Jj3oMD&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwKyKFxCZpbbq2w%2B6wZ5wKxm%2B4DE1UFtyQuec13V6kY%2FWfytV0s%2FVKt3uL3AyqZqqEZnv3qFqmFCpthtDO1x6m4J69ced%2FM1VIgUJX4Ua5lmF5y7hoT0IsUbtyuBmqT

2yaGwjt3a5REFSV%2FBVR2NEmHDRqE9i%2BEgMaDm3%2FBdB0Tg20uD1zTlkoo75vr5a3E3imAnaRVyaFbZ6kPGxUkOnfuZT8XTMRDREFvnWXxwa%2BzBJqs4cD78CIC934tD8Uq9eOA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7yOnrSSYg

Thomas Eastwood
eBay item description

Note:  You know how this works. I've done the easy part; now I ask you when precisely this drawing was published. If only you had your own blog, then you could be asking the hard questions.

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Thomas Eastwood: Baggage Cart

Thomas Eastwood's spot drawing of a handcart holding luggage was published in The New Yorker, probably some time from 1930 to 1945. The verso bears production markings typical of the magazine. The original art was sold on eBay in February at the opening bid of $99. It's an appealing image, evocative of days of more leisurely travel.

Thomas Eastwood
eBay listing ended February 12, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304793297389?hash=item46f718a1ed%3Ag%3AM%7EQAAOSwjfFj3oKh&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4H%2Bh9gjgsP%2Fo2JYq7nqDhlQ6ZuqQ4I%2Fh712dF3zV%2FODVEq0JeDWcjkgqEuf66oEklNmKlv1llW7Ac9gsMBH81FKf0Zw6IipCDeJdFEurRe4%2FdYD%2BmtO4ZXB%2FI5Y1WUo%2BvVIar0u5FavnfjCDZ6ucl28JWyruGY1sbJsvO4a4ES118pSGYj4q4uY2MXXAyD4Q1r%2BbXUYhjwtX0cbGSfK%2BiXgzPqnOIzYOkVtv%2BWJtPg6m8iMqzuXG%2BNzhf9ZIiL03SHupoKxauUCao1AamcBjEKbQlTZLy3evYq6p63Gm8j2x%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR96oief_YQ&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Thomas Eastwood
eBay bid history
The lone bid was placed five days before the auction closed.

Note:  This spot drawing has all the correct markings of an illustration purchased by and published in The New Yorker. All we need now are the issue date and page number. That's where you come in. I'm beat.

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Thomas Eastwood: Receipt Spike

A receipt spike is the sort of everyday store item we've seen countless times without giving it a second thought. We may not even have known what one is called. Thomas Eastwood's spot illustration of one such commercial spike holding seven receipts presents a simple object against a plain black background. One hopes it earned more notice on the spare pages of The New Yorker than the corresponding object at a bustling sales counter. 

Thomas Eastwood
eBay listing ended February 11, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304797285803?hash=item46f7557dab%3Ag%3AfgQAAOSwkBhj1uQa&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8ERzXuTjqf7HLDquodqHjgbPnRirrdMKOkpTMJ3wDbHe6URXyimc9jJB6coDNqftEYX1FfwthuovZw9oId6R%2FhYp8r6BcplTIozBPN9TbOfHSNkCNjRUifXmbMLqGUBLq4QmfnyKKAvJZjdF0n74lIpbcjbuWUt1Xfq6UTUPtkL4BBLI3qlbeM%2Bra9v334%2B91tm5tEBi2

2UKAggUAM0VjoGazfahHvbvhp6dm7j2k8fJBvhAyb6Re0f9b8XzakCqt7sPBitUa1EW%2BL4nhpfwadPUqD%2F6aFSIvD86M8FDFHlXvNljAj%2Bj46iCsrrzHqDXkQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SRCoief_YQ&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Thomas Eastwood
eBay item description

Note:  Can any reader identify when this spot by Thomas Eastwood appeared in print? The seller has helpfully narrowed it down to 832 issues of The New Yorker.

There isn't very much online about the artist, but Michael Maslin's Ink Spill is an excellent place to start. See his post here to read about some of those earlier Eastman art auctions that I failed to archive from eBay.

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