Charles Addams: In the Pawn Shop Window

Between about 1957 and 1967, the Chase Manhattan Bank, today JPMorgan Chase, ran a print advertising campaign that garnered some attention. It urged people of means to take care of their nest eggs.

The Chase Manhattan Bank, 1959
eBay listing accessed October 2, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154913871291

This nest egg ad campaign had many variations. It became familiar enough to make its way into a 1965 New Yorker cartoon by the one and only Charles Addams. The original has been listed on eBay since November 2022.

Charles Addams
Framed original art
The New Yorker, October 16, 1965, p. 48

Charles Addams's signature

Nest egg with correction fluid

Some pricing information from Swann Galleries was added to the listing on the morning of the eBay sale. Perhaps the potential buyer needed some convincing. The two pieces shown below, also originally published in The New Yorker, would be considered more desirable pieces to most collectors, and their strong auction results speak for themselves. Of course, the nest egg drawing is not in the same category.

Charles Addams
eBay listing accessed November 8, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175480728649?hash=item28db776c49:g:mi8AAOSw~wljaTR6&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoN9iMhO65c%2BxNrPd4%2BmAdMdsn89F57H2VOfSh%2F4fGmJCaYISBfize6nkE4HdylvgXePEP2sriS1xpY8RQ

IxuPGi1t0taRlCZRLiy21akXxpNSiBzxhE1sDvxqjHIVR4nP4ElILOcQoMvtEmdZHJg0FR294SIXaQs7yiRKdsNmxMRUxh6z8HCxD5ftQQ6LVMhOLOM9F9vngsX9X1vSoCCXVg%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6S_uJuLYQ

The cartoon is not "a take-off on EF Hutton" but on an ad campaign from the Chase Manhattan Bank.

Charles Addams
eBay item description

The asking price was slowly lowered over the course of eleven months from $7,500 to $7,000 to $6,000, and the artwork sold yesterday for a Best Offer somewhere under $6,000.

November 8, 2022

July 2, 2023

October 2, 2023

Charles Addams
The New Yorker, October 16, 1965, p. 48

Charles Addams
Framed original art
The New Yorker, October 16, 1965, p. 48

Cartoons by Charles Addams and Lee Lorenz

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1965-10-16/flipbook/048/

One more example of a "nest egg" advertisement:

The Chase Manhattan Bank, 1959
eBay listing accessed November 8, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274505231972

The cartoonist on the facing page of The New Yorker is Lee Lorenz. This was published eight years before he was to become the magazine's art editor.

"If this guy says 'What's new, Pussycat?' again, I say we eat him."
Lee Lorenz
The New Yorker, October 16, 1965, p. 49

"What's New Pussycat?"

Tom Jones

By Burt Bacharach and Hal David

1965

Note:  Now I'm not the type to drop hints as to what sort of material should or should not be submitted to this blog for consideration in future posts. I simply would like to suggest, though, that the quantity of original art by Charles Addams showcased here already, while considerable, is not yet optimal. 

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #778

It's time to join the police procedural in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #778 from the issue of November 1, 2021. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Drew Dernavich. 

"We just can't figure out the timeline."

November 13, 2021 Update:  The Finalists

November 21, 2021 Update:  I was tempted to vote for the caption from Vancouver, the most similar to my own, but I found "timeline of events" to be cumbersome, if not redundant. Instead I went with the caption from Terre Haute, which I think is funnier anyway.

November 24, 2021 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #715

Crack up over my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #715 for June 29, 2020. The drawing is by Mort Gerberg.

"Just one. I can't afford any more great falls."

These captions weren't palatable:

"Do you have anything that can do what all the king's men couldn't?"
"For heaven's sake, no more pick-me-ups."
"Something to put me together again."

July 13, 2020 Update:  The Finalists

July 20, 2020 Update:  The finalists were each very good this week. I voted with Brooklyn.


July 27, 2020 Update:  The Winner

Note:  Last week in the Caption Contest, cartoonist P. C. Vey showed us a couple playing a game of beach ball in the pool with a cat. Play along with Contest #714.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives

Mort Gerberg

Bars

Eggs

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest

All the Above Cartoon Caption Contests and More

Attempted Bloggery's Scrambled Index

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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #686

You may now sit in judgment upon my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #686 for November 18, 2019. The drawing is by Christopher Weyant.

"He always wanted to rule the roost."

These captions didn't cause any smiles to crack:

"There he goes hatching another of his bright ideas."
"Herman has always been a tough nut to crack."
"At least he doesn't spend all his time on the internet."
"It seems we never go out anymore."
"It's time for me to roll him to bed."
"Call it a coincidence, but this is Horton's passion."

November 25, 2019 Update:  The Finalists

December 2, 2019 Update:  I did not vote this week. Tough choice.

December 9, 2019 Update:  The Winner

Note:  Last week cartoonist Benjamin Schwartz took us camping with a honey bear. Get lost in the wilderness of Contest #685.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives

Christopher Weyant

Eggs

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest

All the Above Cartoon Caption Contests and Even More

Attempted Bloggery's Eggsponential Index

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Excuse Me: A Postcard from Liana Finck

New Yorker cartoonist Liana Finck's new collection Excuse Me: Cartoons, Complaints, and Notes to Self is set for publication next week on September 24. Back on August 17, an intriguing offer appeared on Ms. Finck's Instagram account: preorder her book that weekend and send her a copy of the receipt; she in turn would reward you with a hand-drawn postcard. Nearly 2,500 people liked her post, and she left a similar one on Twitter (only seven likes there, including mine, but it's the one I actually saw).

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1RSr8olpE2/

It's a good offer and of course I took advantage of it. One hopes many other fans did too. I gave the artist the chance to opt out of having the drawing appear on social media if she wished, but then who wouldn't want to have a drawing grace this blog? I wondered to myself if she suspected how the Postal Service might treat a postcard like this containing delicate original art. I knew it very likely wouldn't arrive in perfect condition and I figured that probably could be considered part of the fun. 

And here it is!

So the card is indeed a little scuffed in the center but, hey, the postal service was never perfect. I, for one, am delighted.

Do you know what else delights me? It's the correct placement of the serial comma in the subtitle of this book. Here is a rough, same as in the above Instagram post, without the comma:

And here is the finished version with the comma in all its glory:

Perhaps there's hope for the world yet.


Note:  Obviously, I am not the only fortunate recipient of such a postcard. Other splendid postcards from Liana Finck have been posted on social media here and here. For those who don't care to use social media themselves, Attempted Bloggery welcomes submissions of original drawings by the artist.

Ms. Finck's book tour dates for Excuse Me are listed here on her Instagram account. Follow her on Instagram or on Twitter for updates. Copies of Excuse Me also may be ordered from the usual places.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Liana Finck

Go Ahead! Watch Attempted Bloggery's Index Go Postal.

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Of Eggs and Arno

Last week if you were on eBay searching for original art by Peter Arno, you would have found a somewhat disconcerting original illustration. The eBay seller describes it as "a bold and dramatic cartoon / illustration of a man with a broken egg." The seller goes on to assert it "is by the famous American cartoonist Peter Arno" and adds "I am not sure what this illustration was created for." Indeed.

The seller, random926, has 100% positive feedback on eBay, which should be reassuring. So what's your gut reaction? Does this look like the work of Peter Arno? Of course it doesn't.

The signature appears a bit shaky and unsure of itself.

So we have questionable artwork and a questionable signature. Should we declare it a fake? Calling this a fake will upset at least two people:  the buyer and the seller. The seller is $158.02 wealthier as a result of this sale. The buyer thinks he has snagged an Arno for a ridiculously good price. Only a fool would tread on their mutual satisfaction. But what if one had proof that this work isn't by Peter Arno? What if there were someone—a humble blogger, say—who could produce this proof? Well, friends, proof is at hand.

It's time to go to your bookshelf and get down your copy of Graphis Annual 75-76. If you can't find your copy, don't panic—I'll show you mine. Let's all turn to page 36. There we see a pair of black-and-white double-spread advertisements from Diamond International Corporation published in the trade press. The first is for window trays for meat and the second promotes protective packages for eggs. Now we know what this illustration was created for. "A broken egg may not seem like much to you—but it can cost you a customer." Note that neither advertisement is signed by Peter Arno and that they were published in the mid-70's a few years after his death in 1968.

So who is the artist? Who is the art director? What is the agency? These are questions Graphis always addresses. The answer to all three queries is Clark L. Robinson.

Clark L. Robinson died late in December of 2014. Presumably, some time between his death and the appearance of this artwork on eBay, someone decided that this illustration could pass for an Arno original. All it needed was a convincing signature...

Well, the art was good enough for the Graphis Annual. But it's not good enough to be a Peter Arno.

The eBay anticlimax:

eBay Listing Ended March 24, 2016

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Illustration-Cartoon-of-Man-With-Broken-Egg-Signed-PETER-ARNO-1904-1968-/322044175884?hash=item4afb54260c%3Ag%3Ad70AAOSwAuNW7CMz&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

eBay Item Description

EBay Bid History
One bidder acts in the first few hours and the other acts in the last ten seconds.

March 15, 2017 Update:  Alas, this Clark L. Robinson art has now been framed and matted and put up for sale at Tennessee auction house Chelsea Collectibles in December as an original Peter Arno. The estimate was a jaw-dropping $1,500 to $2,500. Happily, even with a starting bid of $600, it failed to find a buyer.

Chelsea Collectibles, December 12, 2016 sale, Lot 64
Lot passed.

April 12, 2017 Update:  This work by Clark L. Robinson with a forged Peter Arno signature has once again been put up for sale at the same Tennessee auction house, Chelsea Collectibles, and with the same ridiculous estimate.

https://content.liveauctioneers.com/item/52146226_peter-arno-illustration-cartoon-original-art-ink

April 15, 2017 Update:  Today I notified the auction house that this is the work of Clark L. Robinson and not of Peter Arno. An auction house representative responded promptly and read this blog post, taking some material. The auction house revised the listing to "attributed to Peter Arno, artist may be Clark L. Robinson." I would be more definitive, but Chelsea Collectibles deserves some credit. The estimate and opening bid have been lowered. Peter Arno's name remains in the title to lot 181.

Note:  Who was Clark L. Robinson? Here's his obituary.

While we're at it, who was Peter Arno? Consult my posts about Peter Arno.

Better still, take a look at Ink Spill's posts about Peter Arno. You can reserve your copy of Michael Maslin's new biography Peter Arno:  The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist on Amazon.com.

You'll also want to check out Chris Wheeler's impressive Arno archive.

Finally, don't miss Attempted Bloggery's posts on advertising. Heck, I've got it in my blood.

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