New York's James Cummins, bookseller, offers an original book illustration from Outlines of Sport (1930) by John Held, Jr. Twelve images make up the book, each showing a different sport. The drawing of a man trying to bait his hook is accompanied by a copy of the signed, limited edition of 100.
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| John Held, Jr. AbeBooks listing accessed November 11, 2024 |
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| John Held, Jr. AbeBooks item description |
05050
Homebodies, a collection of cartoons by Charles Addams, was published in 1954. The Addams Family members on the front dust jacket should look familiar.
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| "For Ralph Bills with admiration and appreciation for some very nice thoughts. Chas Addams New York 1955" |
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| Charles Addams eBay listing accessed August 13, 2025 |
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| Charles Addams eBay item description |
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| [End of eBay listing] |
Shortly after I accessed this listing, I was offered a $50 discount.
Note: You know the drill. Collectors of books with Charles Addams originals like this one are invited to send images of such drawings here. I can usually be persuaded to post them.
05032
In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #947 from the issue of June 9, 2025, a fish is caught by an angler's hook and is pulled out of the water. The fisherman prepares to lower it into a net as the fish either takes a selfie with the man in the boat or looks at its phone. The fish speaks, naturally. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Kaamran Hafeez.
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| "Teach a man to order online and he'll never have to fish." |
These captions wouldn't float:
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| "Say 'worm.'" "Toss me back and I'll tag you." "Before you do anything rash, I have five million followers and we're livestreaming." |
June 21, 2025 Update: The Finalists
June 23, 2025 Update: I dipped my toes in and voted for the caption from Dedham.
04966
An original New Yorker cartoon by J. B. Handelsman (1922-2007) was sold ealier this month in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The tranquility of the setting is undercut by the caption with not one but two exclamation points.
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| "Three days without so much as a nibble! By God, Charlie, I may switch my account to another agency!" J. B. Handelsman Framed original art The New Yorker, July 29, 1967, p. 38 |
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| "Three days without so much as a nibble! By God, Charlie, I may switch my account to another agency!" J. B. Handelsman Original art The New Yorker, July 29, 1967, p. 38 |
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| Caption |
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| J. B. Handelsman's signature |
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| J. B. Handelsman Tremont Auctions listing ended May 4, 2025 |
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| J. B. Handelsman Tremont Auctions item description [End of auction listing] |
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| "Three days without so much as a nibble! By God, Charlie, I may switch my account to another agency!" J. B. Handelsman The New Yorker, July 29, 1967, p. 38 |
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| "Three days without so much as a nibble! By God, Charlie, I may switch my account to another agency!" J. B. Handelsman Original art The New Yorker, July 29, 1967, p. 38 |
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| With a cartoon by J. B. Handelsman and an ad for Germaine Monteil |
Note: There's room on this blog for more original art by J. B. Handelsman. As the anglers say, drop me a line.
04941
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.
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| "Ahoy there, fishing boat!" "Hold them until we find her other lens." |
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| Versos with New York stamps |
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| Richard Oldden eBay listing ended May 5, 2023 |
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| Richard Oldden eBay item description |
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| Richard Oldden eBay bid history After seven days, two bidders place two last minute bids four seconds apart. The last bid gets it all. |
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Note: If you can find any of these cartoons somewhere out there on the printed page, please send word.
04325
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| The Institut français du Royaume-Uni, London Desclozeaux, 1982 |
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| Slightly foxed—but still desirable |
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| Spine view |
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| Inscription by Jean-Pierre Desclozeaux |
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| "Apropos Desclozeaux" by Ronald Searle |
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| Desclozeaux eBay Listing Ended November 18, 2019 |
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| Desclozeaux eBay Item Description |
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| eBay Bid History One stealthy bid at the auction close. |
