During the World Wars, dachshunds were caught up in America's anti-German fervor and they became known by the alternate name "liberty hounds." In the postwar era, though, the German dogs could go back to being German again. That seems to be the basic message of a work of original cartoon art by Helen E. Hokinson published in 1947 that was unsuccessfully offered for sale in 2009 at Dargate Auction Galleries of Pittsburgh where it was given a presale estimate of $600 to $900, framed. It was described noncommittally by the auction house as "most likely an original illustration for the New Yorker Magazine." It's actually a freestanding published cartoon and not a story illustration, but we'll let that pass.
The auction listing also notes that it is "titled in pencil (probably by James Reid Parker)." Well, James Reid Parker was indeed the gag writer who collaborated so often and so brilliantly with Hokinson, but that fact certainly doesn't mean that he physically pencilled the captions onto the paper. Anyway, the auction estimate was subsequently lowered to $300 to $500 in 2010 at which time it sold for the low estimate. One final note: the handwritten caption has been altered slightly by the editors for publication, adding the dog name Waldina as a femininely-Teutonic counterweight to the overbearing name of the male dog.
The auction listing also notes that it is "titled in pencil (probably by James Reid Parker)." Well, James Reid Parker was indeed the gag writer who collaborated so often and so brilliantly with Hokinson, but that fact certainly doesn't mean that he physically pencilled the captions onto the paper. Anyway, the auction estimate was subsequently lowered to $300 to $500 in 2010 at which time it sold for the low estimate. One final note: the handwritten caption has been altered slightly by the editors for publication, adding the dog name Waldina as a femininely-Teutonic counterweight to the overbearing name of the male dog.
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| "Why, you remember Baron von Meinhardt-Stellwitz! You met him at White Sulphur." Helen E. Hokinson Original art Published as "Why, Waldina, you remember Baron von Meinhardt-Stellwitz! You met him at White Sulphur." The New Yorker, May 3, 1947, page 30 |
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| Helen E. Hokinson Dargate Auction Galleries August 9, 2009 |
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| Helen E. Hokinson Dargate Auction Galleries May 14, 2010 |
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| "Most likely an original illustration for the New Yorker Magazine." Dargate Auction Galleries Item Description |
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| "Why, Waldina, you remember Baron von Meinhardt-Stellwitz! You met him at White Sulphur." Helen E. Hokinson The New Yorker, May 3, 1947, page 30 |
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| "Why, you remember Baron von Meinhardt-Stellwitz! You met him at White Sulphur." Helen E. Hokinson Original art Published as "Why, Waldina, you remember Baron von Meinhardt-Stellwitz! You met him at White Sulphur." The New Yorker, May 3, 1947, page 30 |
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| Cartoons by Helen E. Hokinson and Claude Smith |
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