Syd Hoff in College Humor, March 1939

Syd Hoff's three gag cartoons in the March 1939 issue of College Humor have one thing in common: strong-willed characters. In the first, our heroine gamely refuses to deviate from her long-held code of conduct, even at gunpoint. Don't attempt this behavior in the field.

"I'm sorry. I never talk to strangers."
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 9, No. 3, March 1939, page 25

In the second, a pushy beggar demonstrates what Hoff might have termed chutzpah.

"My friend wants one also, but he's too proud to ask."
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 9, No. 3, March 1939, page 34

In the third and final cartoon, Louis the butler tries to fend off a very assertive suitor. The hallway may be curved, apparently, but Hoff has taken care to align the three heads nearly horizontally. Could this be accidental? Just take a look at the drawing above.

"The gentleman says it's important, Miss."
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 9, No. 3, March 1939, page 42

Note:  The March 1939 issue of College Humor from which these photos were taken is one of some 5,600 periodicals to be found in the one-of-a-kind Steven Boss humor magazine collection at Columbia University. The full collection can be accessed by the general public in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library within the Butler Library. Contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green for details. Don't be too proud to ask.

Attempted Bloggery is eager to receive readers' scans or photos of all manner of original art by Syd Hoff as well as rare published cartoons, illustrations, and other assorted features.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Pushy Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, February 1938

Three full-page gag cartoons by Syd Hoff were published in the February 1938 issue of College Humor. In the first, the butler Louis is caught with his pants down, and not just proverbially.

"I was rushing, madam!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1938, page 17

This young woman surely knows she's worth the wait. Her beau would seem to agree. Syd Hoff provides some seasonal cartoon fare for College Humor.

"Did I keep you waiting?"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1938, page 32

Finally, what could be more amusing to the college-age crowd than learning that romance is problematic not only for the young? Syd Hoff was a 25-year-old newlywed when this was published, not much older than his target audience.

"I wish someone would take her out so we could be alone!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1938, page 43

Note:  Can you guess who was the first blogger to look into the Steven Boss humor magazine collection, an incredible resource for the jocularly inclined? Come on, you should have no trouble with this one. The February 1938 issue of College Humor is just one of over 5,600 magazines to be found in this splendid collection located in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. The Boss collection is open to the general public, even to serious people like me. Interested parties may access the collection by contacting Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green.

Cartoonist Syd Hoff is the man of the hour here at Attempted Bloggery. I continue to seek scans or photos of original Hoff art and of little-known published works. His freelance cartoon art, published hither and yon outside of The New Yorker before he settled into children's books, deserves to be better known.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

Butlers

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Unthawed Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, May 1937

Cartoonist Syd Hoff offers the College Humor reader of May 1937 questionable advice on How to Win Her, but also unexpected advice on How to Lose Her. Thus all bases are covered and the two contradictory objectives are published on facing pages. Try these out—at your own risk.

How to Win Her
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 1, May 1937, page 30

How to Lose Her
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 1, May 1937, page 31

Hoff's single-panel gag cartoon in the issue features his recurring butler character at his best.

"Have you an appointment?"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 1, May 1937, page 41

Note:  Some 5,600 periodicals make up the Steven Boss humor magazine collection, including the May 1937 number of College Humor excerpted here. The collection is kept in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University and is available to the humor-loving public. To arrange a visit, contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green. Me, I plan to just send my butler.

These three pages of cartoon art by Syd Hoff have never been seen on the internet so far as I know, but now they will be reposted and shared and should remain available to all for the foreseeable future. Attempted Bloggery is eager to receive additional scans or photographs of original art by Hoff as well as rare published gag cartoons, illustrations, and advertisements. The whereabouts of Hoff's original Café Society mural are currently unknown, but if you've had the extraordinary luck to spot an oil on canvas featuring a man in a jazz club dancing in his pajamas, you could help to shed light on a great mystery.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery on Syd Hoff 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball


Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Butlers

Attempted Bloggery's Well-Appointed Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, July 1936

Syd Hoff had no fewer than five cartoons published in the July 1936 issue of College Humor. Two of them involve a butler which most Depression-Era college students probably didn't have much experience with. Two involve a couple kissing and petting in a car, which most college students either knew a lot about or pretended they did. But the first and maybe the most memorable of the cartoons involves an unwelcome and unconventional intruder.

"Papa—I think there's a burglar in the house!"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 36

"Throw him out!"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 39

"Don't rush yourselves—I got all night."

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 40

"Mind if I try to pick up somebody for myself?"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 43

"Now eat that spinach before I get real mad!"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936
page 48

With this last cartoon, one wonders whether Hoff was thinking of Carl Rose's famous spinach cartoon from The New Yorker in 1928, with a caption penned by E. B. White:

"It's broccoli, dear."

"I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it."

Carl Rose
The New Yorker, December 8, 1928, page 27

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1928-12-08#folio=026

Note:  It was back in the spring of 2016 in the Butler Library that I photographed this five-bagger by Syd Hoff in a copy of the July 1936 number of College Humor. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to look at more than 99 percent of the 5,600 periodicals now housed in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection. This invaluable collection is stored in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University and is accessible to the general public, even me. For information, contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green and tell her you'd like to follow in my footsteps, albeit without the stomping about the library that I promised I wouldn't do anymore.

It should be clear by now that there's quite a treasure trove of work by Syd Hoff out there just waiting to be discovered, much of it hidden away in obscure places. Attempted Bloggery is eager to receive scans or photographs from readers of original art by Hoff as well as published gag cartoons, illustrations, advertisements, and whatnot, especially the whatnot. Finally, anyone who knows the whereabouts of Hoff's large Café Society mural, please give a holler.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery on Syd Hoff 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Carl Rose

E. B. White

Attempted Bloggery's Undercover Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

02438

Peter Arno: Waiting for the Good News

When sorrows come, they come not single spies
But in battalions.

William Shakespeare, Hamlet IV.5

So says King Claudius to his distraught wife Gertrude. Peter Arno has his butler put it almost as memorably—if somewhat less succinctly—to the lord and master who is already acquainted with the sorrows which come after a night on the town.

"I regret to report, Sir, that Standard Oil of California is off two points, your second wife called about her alimony, Firefly ran last at Belmont, the man from the Internal Revenue is downstairs, and we are all out of aspirin."

Peter Arno, Original artwork

"I regret to report, Sir, that Standard Oil of California is off two points, your second

wife called about her alimony, Firefly ran last at Belmont, the man from the Internal

Revenue is downstairs, and we are all out of aspirin."

Peter Arno, Original artwork

Peter Arno's signature

"I regret to report, Sir, that Standard Oil of California is off two points, your second
wife called about her alimony, Firefly ran last at Belmont, the man from the Internal
Revenue is downstairs, and we are all out of aspirin."
Peter Arno, Original artwork

Susanin's Item Description

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/41132641_peter-arno-american-1904-1968-i-regret-to-report-s

Inspired by the tradition of Shakespeare's many editors, I have taken the liberty of editing what I believe to be obvious errors in the Arno caption, substituting Internal for International and aspirin for asperin. Where and when this color cartoon may have been published are unknown to me, but anyone with relevant information should email me with AB, for Aspirin Bottle, in the subject line.

May 10, 2016 Update:  What do you know? A sharp-eyed reader has pointed out that the Arno drawing from Susanin's is a variant of a cartoon published in the September 25, 1937 New Yorker. It was the presence of color that threw me off the trail. This color version has some minor differences from the published cartoon, most notably a nude hanging above the bed which might have displeased the magazine's editors. As the New Yorker did not publish color cartoons in the 1930's, this may be a redraw created for a friend or a fan, presumably male, rather than a preliminary version. It has the look of having been drawn somewhat hastily. My two corrections to the caption proved correct, but I should not have capitalized sir.

"I regret to report, sir, that Standard Oil of California is off two points, your second
wife called about her alimony, Firefly ran last at Belmont, the man from the Inter-
nal Revenue Department is downstairs, and we're all out of aspirin."
Peter Arno, The New Yorker, September 25, 1937, page 14

Note:  This blog proudly publishes fine examples of original cartoon art.

If you now feel an urgent need to learn everything you can about Peter Arno, you're in luck. Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist by Michael Maslin is hot off the presses. Read the excerpt The Peter Arno Cartoons That Helped Rescue The New Yorker published May 5 in the New Yorker online.

You can also learn quite a bit from the following links:

Peter Arno posts on Ink Spill. 

Peter Arno in Chris Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery. 

Peter Arno in the April 26 Record.

Peter Arno in April's Vanity Fair. 

Peter Arno in the March 29 Wall Street Journal. 

Peter Arno posts here on Attempted Bloggery. 

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Assault & Butlery: Rowland B. Wilson's Whodunnit

Welcome to America's most popular blog.

In 1981, cartoonist Rowland B. Wilson reported on the Fraternal Order of Butlers Annual Dinner. The results are not pretty...

Rowland B. Wilson, "This case is going to be a tough nut to crack!"
Playboy (?). 1981, page 161

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1981-Rowland-Wilson-Cartoon-Order-Of-Butlers-Case-Is-Going-To-Be-A-Tough-Nut/331697631515?rt=nc&_soffid=5&_soffType=PromotionalShipping&_trksid=p5731.m3795

Note:  At long last, this is the first appearance of Rowland B. Wilson's work here on the blog. It's also the first serious mention of butlers. 'Bout time.

By all means, read previous foolish posts at your own risk.

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