Peter Arno: In the Opinion of the Court

Peter Arno's 1954 New Yorker cartoon gets quite a bit of mileage out of one word.

"What does he mean, 'ilk'?"
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, November 6, 1954, p. 34

We can call this cartoon from seven decades ago sexist, even stereotypical, but I don't think we can call it unfunny. Arno's blonde bombshell has a wonderful earnestness as she tries to understand what is being said of her.


The artist is such an accomplished storyteller. It takes just an instant for us to understand the setting. We take in the impassive judge, the crowded courtroom, and the sexpot exiting the premises with her lawyer. The doors serve as a framing device for the speaker, and the space between the two is just narrow enough to push her into the foreground, as if she weren't three-dimensional enough. The negative space behind her black dress is white.


The light source is on the left. The speaker is highlighted with just a thin line of shadow. Her legs are visible through the dress; Arno just can't help himself. Far more shadow falls on the attorney because he is the less important figure. His expression is muted and we can't see his eyes, but his head is turned toward the speaker, bringing our eyes back to her. His hands are twice the size of his petit client's and his waist is at least three times as wide as hers. Cartoonists wield such awesome power.

"What does he mean, 'ilk'?"
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, November 6, 1954, p. 34

Peter Arno's signature

Peter Arno
The Potomack Company listing for November 17, 2018

https://www.potomackcompany.com/auction-lot/peter-arno-american-1904-1968-what-does-he-mea_D244FA0A7E

Peter Arno
The Potomack Company item description

Sold!



Here's what New Yorker readers saw:

"What does he mean, 'ilk'?"
Peter Arno
The New Yorker, November 6, 1954, p. 34

"What does he mean, 'ilk'?"
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, November 6, 1954, p. 34

A cartoon by Peter Arno and a spot drawing by James Thurber

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1954-11-06/flipbook/034/

James Thurber
Spot drawing

Note:  Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client, this blog, is in need of an ongoing supply of original art by Peter Arno.

Small world! I've already commented on the spot drawing by James Thurber here.

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Be a Popular Banjo Player

"No need to know a thing about music." A 1928 advertisement offers an easy way to become popular by learning to play the banjo or another musical instrument. The ad appeared in College Humor and was directed at the young, educated set. 

Be a Popular Banjo Player
U. S. School of Music
College Humor, Vol. 15,  No. 2,  July 1928, page 122

Note:  The July 1928 issue of College Humor resides in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection at Columbia University in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Thanks to comics librarian Karen Green for leaving the bread crumbs that led me to it.

If you too would like to be more popular, you have three easy options. You can take up the banjo—or the ukulele if that's how your tastes run. You can lead a discussion group about Attempted Bloggery at your local coffee shop. Finally, you can attend "Laughter by the Month: 20th-Century Cartoon and Humor Magazines" on Thursday, March 9 at 6 p.m. in the Butler Library of Columbia University. You might want to consider doing all three.

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