Not so many years back, the winner of The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest would receive a print of the cartoon bearing the winning caption, signed and perhaps personalized by the artist. The two runners up in the contest would receive, predictably, nothing. Nowadays, the winner also receives nothing, other than bragging rights, a rules adjustment that allows the magazine to take entries from all over the world regardless of different laws and tax codes. Needless to say—but I'll say it—the two runners up still receive nothing as well.
Which is where I come in. Having at long last made it to finalist status in Contest #969, the cornucopia cartoon, after twelve-and-a-half years of weekly attempts, I finished third in the voting.
Many people told me they liked my caption although some admitted they didn't understand it. I, whatever the outcome, was delighted to have my name appear in the magazine for the first time, and during it's centenary year, no less. I decided to pursue ownership of the original art before I knew what the outcome of the contest would be. The artist, Shannon Wheeler, was happy to make the sale.
My vanity purchase arrived this past Friday. Shannon was kind enough to also include a rough drawing and a print of an earlier rough with his original caption. First let's look at the original art, which is what I had sought.
The rough he sent was probably publishable too, but he chose to refine the image further. The signatures differ, with a full O on the rough in Shannon and a dot for the O in the finish.
The sale date, March 11, 2024, was a full year-and-a-half before the contest appeared in the magazine. Such a delay is not unusual for The New Yorker.
The print gives us Shannon's original caption on an earlier rough.
Here then are the four captions:
Shannon also included a personal note, in which he is very kind:
I was delighted even with the mailer. It bears several stamps saying Do Not Bend. There is also a stamp of Shannon's comics character Too Much Coffee Man, who has the same message:
The postal service heeded TMCM and the art arrived without a crease.
Note: You too can own original art by Shannon Wheeler. Just visit his Etsy page here.
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