William Hamilton: Six Rough Drawings

Yesterday, six rough drawings by cartoonist William Hamilton were sold at auction by Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. One of them is framed. All have significant toning or paper loss. They are all property from the estate of Regina McKeever Syrjala of Middleburg, VA, who died in 2019 at the age of 100. It seems likely that each of these was submitted to The New Yorker at some point. I do not know if any of these ideas eventually saw print in some form.

Estimated at $150-$250 for the lot, the bidding started at $70. Two weeks before the auction, no bids had yet been placed. 

William Hamilton
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates listing accessed April 12, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/william-hamilton-american-1939-2016-cartoon-drawi-2525-c-6be40658c1?objectID=196432086&algIndex=upcoming_lots_lotNumber_asc_prod&queryID=dab774dcc22bc6999fcc94eaf823444d

William Hamilton
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates item description

William Hamilton
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates listing accessed April 12, 2025

Sold!

Note:  It's always possible that some of these roughs by William Hamilton were eventually published in finished form, either in The New Yorker or elsewhere. Readers who recognize these as published pieces are asked to contact me. I would also like to hear from collectors who own original art by Hamilton.

04925

William Hamilton: Advice to a Revolutionary

An original New Yorker cartoon by William Hamilton was sold on eBay in January, fifty-four years after its publication. A family is seen seated at the dinner table:

"But, darling, many very successful young revolutionaries—our own

Thomas Jefferson among them—dressed for dinner."

William Hamilton

Original art

The New Yorker, January 9, 1971, p. 31

Hamilton handles all the details of upper class life exquisitely. 

"But, darling, many very successful young revolutionaries—our own

Thomas Jefferson among them—dressed for dinner."

William Hamilton

Original art

The New Yorker, January 9, 1971, p. 31

Verso

Verso detail

"But, darling, many very successful young revolutionaries—our own

Thomas Jefferson among them—dressed for dinner."

William Hamilton

The New Yorker, January 9, 1971, p. 31

"But, darling, many very successful young revolutionaries—our own

Thomas Jefferson among them—dressed for dinner."

William Hamilton

The New Yorker, January 9, 1971, p. 31

William Hamilton
eBay listing ended January 31, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267139718384?_skw=William+Hamilton+Yorker&itmmeta=01JR6D9P0V00W247BMWA2DYPT2&hash=item3e32c49cf0:g:LV8AAOSwpYJngCgH&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1do4E6zW155wuJruJVA%2FKrng3cx506%2B1m6ADGfrMTTyfX5dkw%2BBuLayvccVhBTGO0PAIrmL6dOliX9qh2607FkHdg8T6knPB

LfbCd%2BdZwqBdEca0HRA3ULZapixYuTvtiVVX81PNn4lkiZn%2FPINMUYXaSx02TrK9gYyYxneqWamdNRq8x4e6rIMH6xKTDz08KLbKUZd%2BkXaHnD7l43l8wiMmrH1oy8pEY7zuRkn%2BQ6TzXcYrvpgz%2Fm5%2Fs%2B0NNESMdlGaggFXp9JxrqJd56L9AQywc4GXCLmht8QVLTb%2FWjL9A%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8Tgps3BZQ

William Hamilton
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

"But, darling, many very successful

young revolutionaries—our own

Thomas Jefferson among them—

dressed for dinner."

William Hamilton

The New Yorker, January 9, 1971, p. 31

"But, darling, many very successful

young revolutionaries—our own

Thomas Jefferson among them—

dressed for dinner."

William Hamilton

Original art

The New Yorker, January 9, 1971, p. 31

With cartoons by Smilby and William Hamilton

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1971-01-09/flipbook/030/

Smilby, by the way, was the pen name of Francis Wilford-Smith (1927-2009). Tax day falls on April 15, but cartoons about contentious audits are good year round.

Smilby

The New Yorker, January 9, 1971, p. 30

04915

William Hamilton: A Young Man's Milestone

An original New Yorker drawing by William Hamilton was sold on eBay in November.

"I'll bet not many men your age are in the Yellow Pages."
William Hamilton
Original art
The New Yorker, February 3, 1973, p. 30

A prominent listing in the Yellow Pages could be purchased by any business with sufficient funds, so it wasn't really any sort of status symbol. Dining in that elegant restaurant, though, was.

William Hamilton's signature

Caption

"I'll bet not many men your age are in the Yellow Pages."
William Hamilton
Original art
The New Yorker, February 3, 1973, p. 30

Detail, left

Detail, right

William Hamilton
eBay listing ended November 22, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267065490565?_skw=signed+William+Hamilton&itmmeta=01JJG5RQKYQ07C5CVGGNT1G5Q8&hash=item3e2e57fc85:g:lDgAAOSwQaBnN3O0&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKluLcUmglgL%2BIcvMrFJiqwDqCz6kMI3Xx2qL5Po9HkGA7lJLRE9RBkFgO8DtQ7mMwQs8p6XLas2WAYzNLfRWeks5A3W7bEnoYVy%2Bx0ki%2BIJiXC%2BrjQVu41OhbQXdwRMU3Kdn5kvtU3cD8Oa4rGERba1RlvTWSgG6xGXlXcizbVIqky1ytak%2FOjQX%2BXSSlSbSyNjtX0OIwkqXpC0Q%2FgfbIZkSH81rolHfx7kHsXGbVLoEoOSpzDHS99nL0zye3EivdM%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4764oWUZQ

William Hamilton
eBay item description

William Hamilton
eBay bid history
One bid placed early was all it took.

Image added January 29, 2025

"I'll bet not many men your age are in the Yellow Pages."
William Hamilton
The New Yorker, February 3, 1973, p. 30

"I'll bet not many men your age are in the Yellow Pages."
William Hamilton
Original art
The New Yorker, February 3, 1973, p. 30

With drawings by William Hamilton and William Steig

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1973-02-03/flipbook/030/

The Yellow Pages TV Ad

William Steig's drawing shows a couple at a masked ball. Are they hiding something? Steig's gentle touch contrasts on the page with Hamilton's bold impression. 

William Steig
The New Yorker, February 3, 1973, p. 31

04861

A Signed Copy of William Hamilton's Anti-Social Register

It's nearly six years ago now that I spotted a signed copy of New Yorker cartoonist William Hamilton's Anti-Social Register languishing on eBay. I'm sure I thought the $175 Buy It Now price for the 1974 collection of drawings rather excessive. Nevertheless, I dutifully copied the auction to my archive and, as I so often do, forgot all about it. Until now.

In retrospect, the now-fifty-year-old book seems fairly rare in a signed state so the high asking price may have been justified if demand were sufficient. But I never followed through on the auction results, so who can say? 

William Hamilton
eBay listing accessed February 24, 2019

https://www.ebay.com/itm/372592480112?ViewItem=&item=372592480112

William Hamilton
eBay item description

04818