An original drawing by Charles Addams is currently listed on eBay by an established seller with the all-too-convenient name masteraddamsgreatescape. The 15" x 16" (by sight) work is framed and double-matted. It carries the hefty asking price of $35,000. The seller lists it as PUBLISHED—just like that, in all caps—but has not backed up that assertion with any evidence, even in lower-case.
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Of course, this might not be a freestanding cartoon panel at all. The two malevolent onlookers are in no way essential to the humor of the piece. What we have here must be a story illustration of some sort.
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| Charles Addams eBay listing accessed May 28, 2025 |
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| Charles Addams eBay item description "Looks incredible hanging on the wall or in the mancave . . . " |
Why then have a pencil drawing so detailed that the seller believes it was actually published in this form? The answer is that this is a preliminary design for a movie poster. As such, it would have had to go through a thorough approval process with the studio. Here is the finished version of the poster art:
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| https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050527/ |
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| "How to Murder a Rich Uncle" Charles Addams Preliminary poster art 1957 |
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| https://www.ebay.com/itm/401054484780 |
The movie used another Addams design as well:
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| https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0050527/mediaviewer/rm933018625/ |
August 17, 2025 Update: The eBay seller must have seen my post. Now he knows this was created for a movie and he almost has the title right. He bought a set of lobby cards to include with the framed art. He still calls this a published pencil drawing—and it is still a rough. He has made the 12% discount available to all comers, but the price still seems on the high side.
Note: If you have some original Charles Addams art of your own hanging in the mancave and you can think of a blog more worthy of posting it than this one, by all means forward your images there. Otherwise, I await your submission.
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