W. B. Park: Two From Bakery Business

Two illustrations from the children's book Bakery Business (1983) by cartoonist W. B. Park were sold on eBay last fall.

This eBay seller, sellallucan, quirkily likes to photograph both the left and right sides of a given original. In this case, where allowance is made for the crease between the pages, that almost makes sense.

According to Park's biography on the book jacket flap, he resided in in Winter Park, Florida. The eBay seller is today located there. Of the many magazines his work appeared in, The New Yorker is, of course, listed first, followed by Smithsonian and Fortune. Surely TV Guide would have been worth a mention here as well.

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended September 25, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126632557218?_skw=

W. B. Park
eBay item description

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended October 3, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/116295562231?_skw=

W. B. Park
eBay item description

05193

W. B. Park: Portion Control

On eBay, a work of original cartoon art by W. B. Park was sold in June along with its rough. In both cases, we find ourselves in Gus' Cafe, where a client is giving his order. The price is $14.85 plus $9.99 shipping. For once, the words "Blowout Sale" in the listing's title are not exaggerated.

"I'll have the diet platter. In fact, I'll have two diet platters."
W. B. Park
Original art

Typewritten caption

"I'll have the diet platter. In fact, I'll have two diet platters."
W. B. Park
Rough

W. B. Park's signature

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended June 8, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126620688190?_skw=%22W.+B.+Park%22&itmmeta=01K1M5BS0DDSSDQGY4Z8V7QAHH&hash=item1d7b2e5f3e:g:wuYAAOSwnL1muQDG&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAAwFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1foyxJfkrtA0kIIh%2F2mkHVYpm7uy01IDgpANSlU0muEdS79Ne69a1gEmB5reajBW1JpE0N%2BNnsTiE%2F8%2B5hp1TZX7imVqa%2BKOxRsfnCtw8892jVlUFLxHHG1I%2BOM9TfkLUtJtGoMQlElP%2BGXkAYPIjs%2FiBQM82w92AXJ27VZjc%2BO%2BM0qxJ6W%2Bpri2W%2F3frg5rnxucAcZxNRXx0we6EtoHSwcLzFqkBXmpoxqVXrojyW3lw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6KQr4WNZg

W. B. Park
eBay item description

Note:  Was this original art by W. B. Park published? If so, where? When? And for how many calories?

05021

Law 'n Order at Last: W. B. Park Proposed New Yorker Cover Art

W. B. Park's art was never featured on the cover of The New Yorker magazine, but that doesn't mean he didn't try to get it there. My guess is that Park's illustration titled Law 'n Order at Last was a proposal for a New Yorker cover. One big clue is the dark green steel girder running down the left-hand border of the artwork, the strap that The New Yorker famously uses on pretty much all its covers since the very first one. The illustration shows a big city that has been transformed into a police state, with apartment buildings that are now cell blocks.

SWAT teams, FBI agents, the bomb squad, and police are all out in force. The uppermost road sign says No Left Turn. Get it?

W. B. Park's signature and handwritten title

That Cell Block awning address reads suspiciously like a date:  November 30, 2007.

Impassive faces may be seen behind the window bars. Park meant to convey something serious.

Verso

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended April 30, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204871104589?_skw=%22W.+B.+Park%22&itmmeta=01K0ZSKEHQ7DCGV58XAV93GNDW&hash=item2fb344f84d:g:Py4AAOSwstZmh24h&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cbv3d1QpCBg9aXZ%2BilIIv7uimYuNKYTP6LBvNgUcUpfmPwDWDdSxBXyR%2FLLkWQFe9

hkKdj0356zTJmbEgLSaY1liAsZhqa5pLXcOuRZkpYPQUz%2BWYdLo%2BVU%2FF8BYoq4YAoVLqeBq4FUXbXyq9D408IRbxIUvZtZtJNATNVxtj5F6WYzchRdqy2SqBn4hMdkX2OyAGTZReEXmlRlFG3t1CM7Tgpvf5C9oSbHWuT6iu93dC%2FzlhHHet7K2ALPc0XS30%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_rozfmHZg

W. B. Park
eBay eBay item description

Note:  I do love to speculate, but I would never claim to know it all. If this artwork by W. B. Park was indeed published, I wish to hear form readers who can identify the where and when, or else the means, motive, and opportunity.

05012

W. B. Park: Delay of Game

There's not a lot of action to be seen on the baseball diamond in an original illustration by W. B. Park. The several spider webs are apparently a commentary on the slow pace of some baseball games. Park died in 2021, but this watercolor may have appeared decades before the advent of the pitch clock.

W. B. Park's signature

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended April 30, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204871090360?_skw=%22W.+B.+Park%22&itmmeta=01K0X707V7BY38PS5KGPD4MX0R&hash=item2fb344c0b8:g:QEoAAOSwgBBmh2mh&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1ffhgd%2BZSzgKguu3JcQlui72P9oJl4diQjwdf4RRszns3U7dbl7PS3QN8mC73PzxP4WQYpN5KdnbIhaRx%2Bp6Goid5AP2ibsdtWYr2ZL%2FXJk0cpk7Z4ChCcucZgwl6Tm0rwr0eoVNkUlGyUcPZrfK3iM9vMe9xU%2FhPMia0shOlvydMdckMd2J39BX4oReIsB7xJibIw7HkWSmjbQMSy7zlXL7QHkzZThgVoeUX42sceZAhjXl9dXCeMjmW8ONiQjxcQ%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9j9gKeHZg

W. B. Park
eBay item description 

Note:  If you should know where and when this was published, please come forward—and don't balk.

05011