The Best Attempted Bloggery Posts of 2015

Can you keep a secret? Well, I don't really know if these are absolutely my best blog posts of 2015, but they are my favorites. For each example you can go directly to the entire post by following the aqua links.


You Win Some...
Can you trust an Abe Books description without a photo? Should you spend money based solely upon it? I investigated enticing Abe Books listings on two consecutive days with interesting results. I plan to come back to this subject in 2016. Watch for it...

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats T. S. Eliot Calendar for 1991
Signed by Edward Gorey

Kings Don't Carry Money Signed with a Drawing by Charles Barsotti
I'm the first to admit that I'm fascinated by minutiae. This book showed how even a trivial original drawing can bring delight. This is the first original drawing in a book by Charles Barsotti I've seen. It's nothing momentous, but it doesn't have to be.

Charles Barsotti, Kings Don't Carry Money. New York:  Dodd, Mead & Co., 1981. Front cover.

A Ronald Searle Valentine:  39 Steps...
I love so many of the artists on this blog, but for me it just doesn't get better than Ronald Searle.

Ronald Searle, 39 Steps...

Ninety Years Ago at Your Newsstand

I got this idea that I was going to show a bunch of magazine covers that might have been on newsstands in 1925 alongside the first issue of the New Yorker. It was a good idea, I think, but probably too time consuming to attempt repeating for other key dates.

Ralph Barton, "Meet the Editors," Judge, February 21, 1925

A Look at the New Yorker's First Issue

The New Yorker turned ninety this year. I decided to have look at what was inside the magazine. I kept it up for twelve glorious issues.

Rea Irvin, The New Yorker, February 21, 1925

Saul Steinberg: The American Sketchbook

Hallmark published annual calendars in the 1960's featuring artwork by Saul Steinberg. I was not aware of these until I started to blog about them.

Saul Steinberg, The American Sketchbook, 1968

A Look at the New Yorker's Second Issue

In the magazine's second issue, art world luminary Eugene Speicher was caricatured by Miguel Covarrubias. I compared contemporary sale prices for nudes by both artists. Just guess who's worth more today.

Miguel Covarrubias in Bali
Carrying the idea forward, I unearth four different versions of a Balinese bather by Covarrubias.

Miguel Covarrubias, Balinesa, c. 1934

Edward Koren:  Do You Want To Talk About It? Personalized Review Copy
This copy of the book is embellished by both Edward Koren and Calvin Trillin. It may be unique.

Edward Koren, Do You Want To Talk About It? 1976

Saul Steinberg's Mural of Cincinnati

A not-quite-lost masterwork.

Saul Steinberg, Mural of Cincinnati

The New Yorker Cartoons of the Year 2014
I didn't review the 2014 annual until 2015. Now the 2015 edition is out and I haven't gotten to it yet. Some things don't change.

The New Yorker Cartoons of the Year 2014
Cartoon by J. C. Duffy

Bob Mankoff for President
Back in March I made my first Presidential endorsement. I should probably stay out of politics.

Bob Mankoff, Bob Mankoff for President
Signed drawing in The New Yorker Cartoon Yearbook 2007

My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for January/February 2015

This is the second caption contest I ever won.

Captioning:  Learning from George Booth
A lesson in cartoon captioning from the master.

Barbara Shermund's Big-Game Hunter
Presenting preliminary New Yorker cartoon art by Barbara Shermund. It's what I do.

Barbara Shermund, "Come, Toby--Mr. Macspratton won't hurt you."
Preliminary art. The New Yorker, October 20, 1934, page 23

City Cyclists: Charles Saxon Original New Yorker Cover Art

Original New Yorker cover art by Charles Saxon is bought for a song.

Charles Saxon, Original art, The New Yorker, June 17, 1985

Al Hirschfeld:  The Algonquin Round Table
Everything you need to know about the classic image. Lunch?

Al Hirschfeld, The Algonquin Round Table, lithograph, edition of 110

Where's Miley?
My caption contest entry is the opposite of the winning caption.

A Look at the New Yorker's Twelfth Issue:  May 9, 1925

This is the final issue from the New Yorker's first year that I got to review. From here it's possible to follow the links back through all twelve issues.

Rea Irvin, The New Yorker, May 9, 1925

Whitney Darrow, Jr.:  The Very Rich Collector
Whitney Darrow shows us what it's like for the art collector with an awful lot of money.

A Piano Recital with Whitney Darrow, Jr.
If you were a really good friend of Whitney Darrow's this is what he might have drawn in your copy of his book if you played your cards right.

Whitney Darrow, Jr. "You're Sitting on my Eyelashes" (1943) inscribed "Best regards to Button + Dave from Whitney"

Ex-collection the Mary Faulconer Estate
Scan courtesy of David from Manhattan

The Dutch Treat Club 1946 Yearbook
I still can't believe what Edward, Duke of Windsor, signed.

Signature of Edward, Duke of Windsor

A Good Copy of the June 20, 1925 Issue of the New Yorker

Go ahead, guess what it sold for!

H. O. Hofman, The New Yorker, June 20, 1925

Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks 2015
This was perhaps my final visit to the great fireworks show.

The fireworks

Photo by Marc Hoffman

Norman Rockwell's Portrait of America
I eat in the best dining rooms!

Norman Rockwell, Portrait of America

Michael Crawford:  The Ethical Appropriator

Cartoonist Michael Crawford knocks my socks off with his paintings.

Michael Crawford, (after Chuck Close), Rauschenberg Minus Nebraska

The New Yorker Book of Political Cartoons Signed by Hillary Clinton

Don't miss this:  a cartoon book signed and inscribed by Hillary Clinton as Senator-elect. 

The New Yorker Book of Political Cartoons (2000)

Blog Post No. 1600:  "The Big Bang Theory's" Homage to Charles Addams
The geeky TV show makes a reference to a classic Charles Addams cartoon and your blogger takes note.

"A death ray?"

Rea Irvin and Al Hirschfeld: Harold Ross as Eustace Tilley

Two artists depict Ross as Tilley.

Al Hirschfeld "+ R. I.," Harold Ross from The Vicious Circle:  The Story of the Algonquin Round Table, 1951

License Plate for Captain Spaulding

Hooray for Captain Spaulding!

"SHNORER"

New Jersey license plate

Charles Addams:  Yes, The New Yorker

Uncle Fester in a vintage ad for the New Yorker.

Delia Ephron and Edward Koren:  Do I Have to Say Hello?
Mr. Koren draws.

2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation
America's favorite balloons get inflated.

Snoopy and Woodstock

Old Mill:  Arthur Getz Original New Yorker Cover Art
A rare blog post with both original New Yorker cover art and preliminary art.

Arthur Getz, Original art, The New Yorker, September 1, 1980

Lurch as Santa:  Daise Terry's Copy of Addams and Evil
With an original book illustration by Charles Addams.

Charles Addams, Lurch as Santa Claus, inscribed "New York/1947/For Daise Terry/Merry Christmas/Chas Addams" in Addams, Charles. Addams and Evil, New York:  Random House, 1947

Note:  Whew! See also last year's highlights.

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My Best Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Entries of 2015

People like me who can't get our captions noticed by the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest's editors can still get some satisfaction by submitting to the Moment magazine contest. This July the caption contest mantle was passed from New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Benjamin Schwartz. Six contests are held each year, one for each issue. Here are the five in which one of my captions was selected as one of three finalists. Two of these captions were subsequently voted winners by the readership. As the current November/December contest hasn't been announced yet, I'll start with November/December of 2014.

November/December 2014:

Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Finalists for November/December 2014

January/February 2015:

Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Finalists for January/February 2015

March/April 2015:

Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Finalists for March/April 2015

May/June 2015:

Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Finalists May/June 2015

In the second half of the year, Benjamin Schwartz began drawing the contest cartoon.

July/August 2015:

Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Finalists July/August 2015

Two of my 2015 captions went on to become winners, bringing my all-time total up to three. The purported prize, a year's gift subscription to Moment, has yet to be awarded to me:

Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Winning Caption for January/February 2015

Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Winning Caption for May/June 2015

Note:  Students of the caption contests may wish to ponder these topics in the blog's archive:
           Bob Mankoff
           Benjamin Schwartz
           Caption Contests

           

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The Best Attempted Bloggery Posts of 2014

I'm going to let you in on a little secret:  When I start to write a blog post, I don't know where it will take me. I almost never use an outline, but instead rely on the particular features of whatever I'm presenting to suggest some tentative direction. With such an open approach, there are bound to be some successes and some failures, but I'm generally satisfied with the outcomes, more than I should be if they were truly haphazard. Those posts which I consider the best do not necessarily come from the best artwork or the best artists, but rather from that serendipitous process where some observation is arrived at that was not previously apparent.

On average I have published slightly more than one blog post a day this year, and from these I've selected those that I consider the best. These then are the posts I'm proudest of from 2014. If you'd like to see the full posts, simply click on the aqua links.


Liza Donnelly: Women on Men
Back in January, who could have guessed that Liza Donnelly's Women on Men would become a Thurber Prize finalist?

Numerals 1980: Paul Degen Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
For once, I think I can surmise why a proposed New Yorker cover was rejected.

The Quotable George Price
Some of the literary quotations in George Price's captions bring me great joy, even if Price didn't write them himself. And you can quote me on that.

"Cover Story: The New Yorker in Westport"
The Westport Historical Society hosts a major exhibition about the many local artists who created covers for the New Yorker and your humble blogger attends the opening.

George Price Rolls His Own
This is probably the best job I've done all year in explicating a cartoon. Who knew cartoons needed explication?

Vermont Cartoonist Laureate: The Bookish Ed Koren
Time and again Edward Koren generously makes drawings in books for his legions of fans. This post contains a particularly worthwhile crop.

Drew Friedman's Old Jewish Comedians
I show up for the opening of Drew Friedman's "Old Jewish Comedians" at the Society of Illustrators and no one mistakes me for a celebrity.

My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for January/February 2014
This is the only cartoon caption contest I ever won and it's difficult to see how.

Groucho's French Order of Arts and Letters
I just can't believe the finds which show up regularly on eBay, but when one of Groucho Marx's most treasured possessions is sold off, I have mixed feelings.

Charlie Brown at MoCCA Fest
This year I didn't get to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I did see the Charlie Brown balloon indoors at MoCCA Fest.

Mixed Reactions: Constantin Alajálov, New Yorker Cover Art
I explain how this original 1936 New Yorker cover art is the perfect metaphor for how we differ in our responses to art.

My Moment with Bob Mankoff
Here's why I don't think New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff is a good listener.

Shore Leave: Constantin Alajálov New Yorker Cover Art
It's not at all unusual for me to write about original New Yorker cover art, but for some reason I really liked the way all the elements came together on this one.

Constantin Alajálov: George Gershwin's Song-Book
Making a collaboration between an artist and a musician work isn't always so easy. I was pleased with how this blog post reflected on the two major talents involved.

Nude with The New Yorker
She got my attention by taking off her clothes and posing with a copy of the New Yorker. This amateur photo dates from the 1950's. What would William Shawn have thought?

William Steig's Crying Chickens
On the subject of William Steig's crying chickens, I have the last word. Or is it the only word?

Victory Garden: Garth Williams Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
A rejected New Yorker cover by Garth Williams gives us a chance to review the magazine's wartime covers on the subject of Victory gardens. If not this aerial view, then just what were the editors looking for?

Al Capp: The Dreams of Li'l Abner
A rare example of unfinished "Li'l Abner" original comic strip art by Al Capp. My own dreams are less vivid.

Wally Skinner's Copy of The Art of the New Yorker 1925-1995
What do you suppose happens when you ask a gathering of New Yorker cartoonists to draw a frog in your book?

"Engraved" by John Held, Jr.
Four masterly "engravings" by John Held, Jr. that were not published in the New Yorker.

2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation

I just adore when they inflate the balloons the night before the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Saul Steinberg's Santa for Hallmark
A forgotten Hallmark Christmas card by Saul Steinberg is forgotten no longer.

Roger Duvoisin: A New Yorker Spot Drawing of the 1939 New York World's Fair
During the 1939 New York World's Fair, did the New Yorker publish a spot drawing as a quid pro quo to one of its advertisers? You decide.

Sexcapades: With a Handshake from Al Ross
I don't believe I've ever before come across a book with an original drawing by Al Ross.

The New Yorker Book of Political Cartoons Signed by Four New Yorker Cartoonists
Four New Yorker cartoonists made original drawings in this book of political cartoons and one of them is even about politics.

Frank Sullivan and George Price: A Moose in the Hoose
This copy of a Christmas book illustrated by George Price turns out to contain two key autographs. If you wanted to track down something like this you never could, but there it is just sitting on eBay for the taking.

Ronald Searle: Santa at the Shrine
If you've never seen an unfinished drawing by Ronald Searle, this is your big chance.

Caroling Out in the Snow: Charles Saxon Preliminary New Yorker Cover Art

Preliminary New Yorker cover art is always interesting because you can compare it with the published version and try to surmise what the editors were thinking. When the art is by Charles Saxon, it's really a cause for celebration.

A Trojan Christmas: R. O. Blechman Original New Yorker Cover Art

The year after this Christmas cover saw print, R. O. Blechman created a New Yorker cover reinterpreting Rodin's Thinker as a robot. Here he takes on the sculpture of Laocoön and his Sons. Come to think of it, Charles Addams had his cartoon take on this as well. This post is a good example of a sort of cartoon stream-of-consciousness that can happen when you simply allow the connections to make themselves.

Note:  End-of-the-year highlights are a new thing for me. Yesterday, for example, I showed off my best captions of 2014 from the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest.

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