Richard Oldden: A Trout Stream

Another lot of four original cartoons by Richard Oldden were sold on eBay in early May. These drawings are all shaded finishes circa the 1970s. Their publication history is unknown. They may not all be as funny as some of Oldden's other gag cartoons, but they are certainly good looking drawings. It's hard to think the buyer didn't get a great deal: all four for $66.

"Hey! Would you mind holding it down a bit over there?"                  Picnic visitor             

     "You should never have let it go this long."     "Need I remind you that this is supposed to be a trout stream."

Versos with a numbering system and New York or Laguna Beach addresses

Richard Oldden
eBay listing ended May 3, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374659771772?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc

Richard Oldden
eBay item description

Richard Oldden
eBay bid history
Three bidders, four bids. The one placed in the final five seconds wins the lot.

Note:  Please let me know if you find where any of these drawings by Richard Oldden appeared in print. 

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #740

Please handle with care my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #740 for January 18, 2021. The drawing is by Joe Dator.

"So much for our hopes of cashing in on the insurance."

These captions didn't shatter any expectations:

"And YOU weren't going to hire him."
"The rest of us don't have a shot at employee of the month."
"The only thing he's broken is our sales record."
"The only things he's broken are the hearts of collectors."
"We were the only firm willing to hire Ferdinand."
"He just wanted to get away from Pamplona."
"He hated working in the ring."
"He still keeps one hoof in the ring."

January 25, 2021 Update:  The Finalists

February 1, 2021 Update:  I voted for the caption from London.

 

February 8, 2020 Update:  The Winner

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Bob Eckstein: In Search of a China Shop

Last week the Facebook group New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Rejects (and Enthusiasts) held a one-off caption contest featuring a cartoon by Bob Eckstein showing These days most of the caption contests based on The New Yorker model offer no tangible prize at all, but this one is actually pretty sweet. The original of this signed cartoon embellished with the winning caption is to be the first prize in the contest. Second prize is an inscribed copy of All’s Fair in Love & War: The Ultimate Cartoon Book (2020) edited by Bob Eckstein. The third prize is a copy of The Elements of Stress and the Pursuit of Happy-ish in this Current Sh*tstorm (2020) by Bob Eckstein and Michael Shaw, also inscribed by—no coincidence—Bob Eckstein. The contest, which closed Friday, was open only to members of the Facebook group.

"This year I'm bullish on chaos."

Incidentally, the caption shown here, which I did write, is really just a placeholder. I did not enter the contest and did not come up with even this rudimentary caption until today, two days after the contest closed. Promotions have their place though, and this contest reminds us of a cause to celebrate: the publication of two new books from Bob Eckstein.

October 12, 2020 Update:  The Finalists

October 25, 2020 Update:  The Winner

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10158981940446532&set=oa.1226015997769653

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10158981940446532&set=oa.1226015997769653

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Ronald Searle's China Shop

In 1977, Ronald Searle published Zoodiac, a series of full-color illustrations, a different animal appearing on two facing pages for each sign of the zodiac. The illustrations were all created specifically for the book and are among the funniest and most technically-brilliant ever created by the artist. It could have been Searle's last word on the subject—but it wasn't.

More than twenty years later, Searle revisited the same territory—one full-color, full-page illustration of an animal for each sign of the zodiac—and the series appeared in Town and Country magazine. In the case of Taurus in the China Shop, we can now compare the original magazine art published in 1998 with an alternative version offered last month at Sotheby's London. The published version of the art has a more physically-active and more casually-dressed bull, a more concerned saleswoman, and a more varied collection of animal figures.

Ronald Searle, Taurus in the China Shop, 1998
Original art, Town and Country, 1999

http://www.ronaldsearle.co.uk/taurus.htm

Ronald Searle, Taurus, 1998
Alternative version to that in Town and Country, 1999

Ronald Searle
Sotheby's London
July 11, 2017 Lot 231
Unsold

Ronald Searle
Sotheby's London
July 11, 2017 Lot 231
Details and Cataloguing

Taurus, from Ronald Searle's Zoodiac, 1977:

Ronald Searle, Zoodiac, 1977, title page

http://ecc-cartoonbooksclub.blogspot.com/2014/01/zoodiac-by-ronals-searle.html

Ronald Searle, Zoodiac, 1977, endpaper

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1st-American-Edition-Hardback-Jacket-ZOODIAC-Ronald-Searle-Pantheon-Books-1977-/332103140502?hash=item4d52e3c496:g:yfYAAOSw-0xYiPJu

Ronald Searle, Zoodiac, 1977, procession

http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2012/03/arty-farty-friday-two-march-3rd.html

Which version of the 1998 illustration do you prefer?

Ronald Searle, Taurus in the China Shop, 1998

Original art, Town and Country, 1999

Ronald Searle, Taurus, 1998

Alternative or preliminary version to that in Town and Country, 1999

Note:  Attempted Bloggery is looking for submissions of published and unpublished original book and magazine illustrations by Ronald Searle and other New Yorker artists. Alternative or preliminary versions are especially welcome. You break it, you bought it.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Ronald Searle

Preliminary Art

Attempted Bloggery's Fragile Index

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Mischa Richter's China Shop

A pencil rough by cartoonist Mischa Richter demonstrates the loose, sketchy form in which he submitted ideas to publishers such as the New Yorker.

"I've often dreamed of opening a small
china shop in Kansas City."
Mischa Richter cartoon rough

Mischa Richter

eBay Listing Ended September 30, 2016

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mischa-Richter-original-illustration-art-signed-clean-The-New-Yorker-Bulls-/262640236796?hash=item3d2693f8fc%3Ag%3AySQAAOSwawpXvVlD&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Mischa Richter
eBay Item Description

eBay Bid History
One bid

"I've often dreamed of opening a small
china shop in Kansas City."
Mischa Richter cartoon rough

The above cartoon rough may or may not ever have received a finish or been published. Nevertheless, it could have served as the germ for a slightly different and more sophisticated concept that Mr. Richter went on to develop for the New Yorker.

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1990-02-05#folio=076

Note:  Attempted Bloggery is always eager to present published and unpublished art by Mischa Richter and other New Yorker artists. No bull.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Mischa Richter

Cartoon Roughs

Attempted Bloggery's Bullish Index

02270

My Entries in Danny Shanahan's Caption Contest for October 2013

Back in April of 2013, Danny Shanahan's Cartoon Caption Contest was my introduction to writing cartoon captions. That's right, you can blame him. The contest made another appearance in October of that year but it has been in a state of suspended animation ever since with no winning caption declared. I submitted eight captions to this contest, but I'm still not sure I've come up with just the right one. I mean, when you find yourself writing a caption about chafing, it's a good idea to take a step back and rethink it all.

"Fool me once, shame on you...."
"Um, just between us, what's your mother's name?"
"Ah, yes, I knew your mother."
"Actually, I go more for legs."
"Why, as a matter of fact, I have been to the henhouse."
"The chafing must be awful."
"Are you available for babysitting?"
"Got eggs?"

Note:  Danny Shanahan's website can be enjoyed here. Take a look around. I'm the only one to enter the caption contest since 2013, but, hey, you can feel free to join me. While you're there, consider buying some great original artwork.

My entries in his swinish April caption contest are documented here.

Danny Shanahan figures prominently here in my essential blog post on New Yorker Cartoons at Auction.

My string of unsuccessful entries in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest has been exhaustively documented for posterity. You can see the disheartening results here. If you have a calculator handy and are good with numbers, you'll see that the number of my successful entries to date is zero.

My captions may never be up to The New Yorker's standards, but I have just been named a finalist again in Moment magazine's Cartoon Caption Contest. See the blog posts about my only captioning contest triumphs here. 

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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #430

Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #430 for June 2, 2014. The drawing is by Kaamran Hafeez. Yo escribí el título.

"Could we save any goring for after my vacation?"

June 16, 2014 Update: The Finalists

June 30, 2014 Update:  Winning Caption

Note:  In the last New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, Harry Bliss drew a lilliputian cocktail pianist in a hotel room. I went for the obvious. No go. See the results of Contest #429.

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