The CartoonStock Cartoon Caption Contest No. 210

What's up with the CartoonStock Caption Contest number 210? It features a girl talking to a firefighter while an elephant sits in a tree. That's what's up. The cartoonist is Rusty Epstein. He's new to the contest and new to the blog.

The monthly cash prize contest has new rules which I seem compelled to repeat: Five dollars will still buy up to three entries but now three additional dollars can optionally buy a fourth entry, and so on and so forth. Real cash prizes are fifty percent of the total prize pool (previously $500 was the fifty percent) for first place and ten percent of the prize pool (previously $100) for each of five runners up. As of this writing, I've put $275 into the first fifty-five pay-to-play contests and this fifty-sixth challenge brings my total cash outlay up to $280. So far I haven't purchased any of the new $3 entries. Having achieved runner-up status with three previous cash prize entries, I've collected $300 from CartoonStock, so I'm still playing with the house's money, at least for the time being. Because the contest is no longer subsidized by cash from the vast coffers of CartoonStock, the contest's odds should now be just a little less favorable, I think, unless $3 entries are being purchased in bulk by the caption-impaired. The prize pool, as I prepared my captions in the 9:00 hour before the deadline, was already pushing up against that old thousand dollar level.

So here is my big chance to redeem myself after last month's weak showing. My three entries are shown below.

"Could you check under him for the cat?"
"Guess what happened to the swing."
"The one thing he can't remember is how he got up there."

September 27, 2026 Update:  The Winner

None of my captions made any of the lists in the judging video.

The Judges Deliberate

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Wallace Wood for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes

"The Abominable Squeaks." So reads the copy of a 1960s-era magazine advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes. Four vignettes by the formidable Mad magazine artist Wallace Wood depict the untold embarrassment of being the man whose shoes make too much noise. The bridegroom advancing nervously down the aisle, the doctor making night shift rounds on the hospital ward, the game hunter stealthily seeking his prey, even the zookeeper failing to mind his oversized charge—none are spared the indignity of these "abominable squeaks."

The shoes are now priced from $29.95 to $34.95, with the lower-end shoes more expensive than what was quoted in the, presumably earlier, 1967 pair of ads we saw in yesterday's post. Those, of course, were illustrated by The New Yorker's William Steig. Wood is the only cartoonist I have found other than Steig who contributed to these Porto-Ped ads and this single page is the only example I have located for him. But there could be others.

Wallace Wood
The Abominable Squeaks.
1960's-era advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265845343823

Note:  As my sneakers silently convey me through the lands of vintage advertising and illustration, I am eager to hear of additional cartoon ads by Wallace Wood, William Steig, or perhaps others from this Portage Porto-Ped Shoes campaign.

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #999

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #999 from the issue of July 27, 2026, a couple seated in their living room look up at a giant hole in the wall through which an elephant has just run out. The man speaks. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Tom Toro.

"Enough with the dad jokes."

I decided to stay away from the most obvious take:

"Now what do we avoid talking about?"

August 9, 2026 Update:  The Finalists

August 16, 2026 Update:  I voted for the caption from Seattle.

August 26, 2026 Update: The Winner

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Thomas Nast: Enter the Elephant

Among his many accomplishments, cartoonist Thomas Nast was largely responsible for establishing the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party. He first introduced a pachyderm labeled "The Republican Vote" in a Harper's Weekly cartoon from the November 7, 1874, issue. The parable of "The Ass in the Lion's Skin" is from Aesop, not Shakespeare.

The Third-Term Panic.
"An Ass, having put on the Lion's skin, roamed about in the Forest, and amused himself by frightening all the foolish Animals he met with in his wanderings."—Shakspeare or Bacon.
Thomas Nast
Harper's Weekly, November 7, 1874, p. 912

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)#/media/File:NastRepublicanElephant.jpg

Two weeks later, he revisited the idea, showing the hapless Republican elephant "Caught in a Trap—The Result of the Third-Term Hoax." Nast, a Republican, was reacting in both cartoons to unfounded speculation that Ulysses S. Grant would run for an unprecedented third presidential term in 1876. Argosy Book Store has a copy of the November 21 page in its inventory.

Caught in a Trap—The Result of the Third-Term Hoax.
Thomas Nast
Harpers Weekly, November 21, 1874, p. 960

Thomas Nast
Argosy Book Store listing accessed May 29, 2025

https://www.argosybooks.com/details.php?record=328173&jump=1&pkd_source=_newarr&utm_source=website&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=emaillists

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #884

Mr. Peanut shows an apartment to a large elephant in silhouette in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #884 from the issue of February 5, 2024. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Lonnie Millsap.

"The house rules say no stomping late at night and absolutely no peanut shells."

This caption didn't move me:

"Most of your sort have moved upstate."

February 23, 2024 Update:  The Finalists

March 2, 2024 Update:  I voted for the caption from Austin.

March 9, 2024 Update:  The Winner

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Peter de Sève: Who's on Top?

A copy of A Sketchy Past: The Art of Peter de Sève (2009) currently listed on AbeBooks by Doodletown Farm Books—how can anyone not love that name?—contains an original sketch by the artist. There's an inscription, apparently not photographed for the listing. Peter de Sève's sketch reflects the cover illustration . . . with one key difference.

Peter de Sève
AbeBooks listing accessed September 29, 2023

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30836230045&searchurl=kn%3DPeter%2Bde%2BSeve%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-sales1-_-click11

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Richard Oldden: Elephants and Submarines

Is this really the way to sell original cartoon art? Four more drawings by Richard Oldden changed hands on eBay on May 5 for a paltry $67.51 plus $20 shipping. Their publication history is unknown. In the space of a week, six distinct groupings of four original works each were sold on the online auction platform, along with another smaller group of two known to be from The New Yorker. Oldden's work doesn't come to the market all that often and this type of sudden mass sale only serves to commodify the art and overwhelm the potential buyers.

Oldden delighted in drawing all manner of complex things. The settings are exotic. In this group we see submarines in two drawings, Indian elephants, and a Middle Eastern oil refinery.

Two of the cartoons have captions . . . 

  "Ahoy there, fishing boat!"                          "Hold them until we find her other lens."

. . . and two do not.

Versos with New York stamps

Richard Oldden
eBay listing ended May 5, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374663675198?_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
After seven days, two bidders place two last minute bids four seconds apart. The last bid gets it all.

Note:  If you can find any of these cartoons somewhere out there on the printed page, please send word.

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Richard Oldden: Luxurious Enough

A group of four original cartoons by Richard Oldden (May 4, 1931-Feb 21, 1995) shows just how funny it can be when things go wrong. 

His handwritten caption suggests Oldden may have had some issues with spelling:

"Oh, it's lux[u]rious enough . . . but we have this problem with fl[ie]s . . . "        William Tell                   

He gives us new takes on the stories of William Tell and of the Little Dutch Boy. His raunchy desert island cartoon can be said to cover new ground as well.

       Leak in the dike                                    Desert island sand sculpture

Versos

Richard Oldden
eBay listing ended April 30, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204314376599?_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
Seven days, two bidders, seven bids, and the last bid wins

888 Temple Hills Dr., Laguna Beach, CA
Google Earth Street View
Accessed May 15, 2023

https://earth.google.com/web/search/888+Temple+Hills+Drive,+Laguna+Beach,+CA

/@33.53930264,-117.77194787,76.70152454a,0d,60y,52.03501867h,85t,0r/data

=CpMBGmkSYwolMHg4MGRjZTViYTZlMGVlMTc1OjB4YTA4YWM0YzQ5ZGRiN2R

mMxnK2xFOC8VAQCEUEh-OZHFdwCooODg4IFRlbXBsZSBIaWxscyBEcml2ZS

wgTGFndW5hIEJlYWNoLCBDQRgBIAEiJgokCYKF0vhV4jZAEYGF0vhV4jbAGfh

s4YiLREFAIXmZxVpnuFHAIhoKFmlMVzlITWZWeTljX3haa09Oc0dRSHcQAg

Note:  I would like to hear from readers  who might know where any or all of these Richard Oldden cartoons were published.

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Malcom Hancock: A Price List for Joel

It's a shame that we don't have the date for a rather interesting letter from cartoonist Malcolm "Mal" Hancock (1936-1993) written by hand to a fan named Joel. A business card is stapled to the sheet. The letter is apparently a response to a request for original art. It was sold on eBay in January for $40.

Shrewdly, Mal twice describes the purchase of his cartoon art as an "investment." He gives Joel a price list for his artwork including syndicated panel cartoons The Lumpits (1970-1978) and Foster Fenwick (1968-1982) as well as magazine work for The Saturday Review/World, The New Yorker, and Playboy. Mal's first New Yorker cartoon was published in 1973, so this letter most likely dates some time from 1973 to 1982, after which he introduced a new panel title not mentioned here. It more likely dates from 1973 to 1978 when both panel strips mentioned were in syndication, but no matter how early this price list may be, original published New Yorker art priced at $100 seems improbably inexpensive. (According to Michael Maslin's Ink Spill, Mal published only two New Yorker drawings, in 1973 and 1975.) At $250, the Playboy cartoons are the priciest listed, perhaps because they were in color or perhaps because they were most in demand.

Mal Hancock
eBay listing ended January 15, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374461145698?hash=item572f9fa262%3Ag%3AoHcAAOSwh7djtji7&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4MXr%2B%2FqTDmwm2fHaEDB3CkWWDahSpUbFP%2FPGgBw2R5Nd0I8d5%2FgBk3uvU2L2MJ2gA0DiIbNzk1x7YDSGnUPq%2F2x5epwXc1kZHecQ9aX1HqlSbP9lPuyXLk4cLOffNuT0GNSyOq5CfWaTxwl%2FOUJbtLfvj96XzbiZowWoJOsMBKTe5

uwY39jgGI2rtaYnLiCi5gOQibqmBJDqzpjTeuE0TGREO1sR38ljBI8cR9%2FqElgrrNWndUetHsrHiG2E1FlBdGyvBDUB1HD5uDaYjH3Y6AUw7uLkW8wdrAibpzjih8oB%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8aruZbrYQ&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

A vintage postcard currently listed on eBay shows the Plymouth Building in downtown Minneapolis, where Mal Hancock kept an office for eight years.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385514654313?hash=item59c276ca69:g:sQAAOSwCGthArqA&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4Im2G%2FT
pjAYpASt9ady0kO1JPpPI0QO%2FwUE43NHW0TunNQ%2BRAhDfl8d8673nBKphMRZ6WjhSBWHAdaq76Q76t8cY6WDCEb1VcrBJbev
GdULfjcpwXxEBtvRoZ4OKqbrAX9hAETuSpmnqrao67to%2BXO2P1wdE%2BFV04a%2BYc%2F7fEijaBQxJclzsOTWzsmMV5gqM9vJCsO
bWYva6DGFCKgSo%2Bd1xgQZMoRYZ40d38DpG6vE24TOK07e%2B8k7B4VD%2FAPGvYrxdxUGj4%2BO39HuS
U9AUtZH8lQIviUwL%2FUDDXUcXVltC%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5aF7b_sYQ

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