William Steig: Marriage in the Balance

Another original New Yorker cartoon by William Steig, this one from 1969, was sold by Second Story Books on May 17. It had been collected by Neil and Susan Sheehan, she a writer for the magazine. One imagines they both appreciated the singular perspective on marriage the artist expressed in this drawing. 

William Steig
Original art
The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 57

William Steig's signature

The price was $500. It was quickly sold.

William Steig
AbeBooks listing ended May 17, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/ORIGINAL-1969-NEW-YORKER-CARTOON-Signed/32447225940/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook#&gid=undefined&pid=1

The drawing looked great in print.

William Steig
The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 57

William Steig
Original art
The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 57

With cartoons by Edward Koren and William Steig

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1969-11-22/flipbook/056/

* * *

The Motion Picture Association of America introduced its voluntary film rating system in November of 1968. The four original ratings were G (for general audiences), M (for mature audiences), R (restricted, persons under age 16 not admitted without a parent or guardian), and X (those under 16 not admitted). Edward Koren's cartoon, on the page opposite the Steig, provides the artist's take on the new ratings one year in.

"It looks like an ⓧ rating to me."

Edward Koren

The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 56

05271

Barbara Shermund: Working Girl

Yesterday at Heritage Auctions, a fine original cartoon by Barbara Shermund was sold. It's a color piece from her syndicated panel series that appeared in "The Cheering Section" of Pictorial Review for June 1, 1947.

"We had a terrible argument. I told him lots of girls kept right on with their jobs after marriage."
Barbara Shermund
Original art
Pictorial Review, June 1, 1947

The online bidding started strong almost two days before the live bidding.

Barbara Shermund
Heritage Auctions listing accessed November 17, 2025, almost two days before the sale

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/illustrations/barbara-shermund-pictorial-review-january-1949-single-panel-gag-cartoon-illustration-original-art-king/a/322547-48264.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116

Barbara Shermund
Heritage Auctions item description

Sold!

January 22, 2025 Update:  Yesterday, D. D. Degg of The Daily Cartoonist posted a black-and-white scan of the newsprint cartoon from newspapers.com dated June 1, 1947. I have corrected the publication date above accordingly.

05128

W. B. Park: Updating the Relationship Status

W. B. Park's New Yorker cartoon from the December 12, 1994 issue serves to remind us of how we used to update our relationship statuses prior to the days of social media. The original art was sold on eBay in October.

"Did we ever go through with that divorce we were talking about?"
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, December 12, 1994, p. 101

Detail, left

Detail, right, with W. B. Park's signature

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended October 21, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196479705197skw=rare+original+the+new+Yorker+published+sign+%26+Fine&itmmeta=01JGA7JXQGCNJME35EQSJ1HTG1&hash=item2dbf1a606d:g:OPAAAOSwwvFmhIvU&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABEHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKn5Ham6%2BkldyhFe1AqcR

J7Lp%2FXtjBog8%2Bz45ud8iICXUWawUVhiSc5t7u1WHChKiPbgArZTqU6VZct36KEuK3VtBYFCSkARnPeyCiDeBBP5RGj01aGRs5hlk%2BsndQ37rteiLSgWA9khR9WIplSh7cOcrK1HQFNBJr7Blp%2Fv%2FhCvSOz%2BLfgzckxtWEchG%2Fa2bs4%2FG

koCFj1XhSEQuvFss4fMlwRqorYJtggXtjsxjQLk%2BWs2qLSDBGbfJNFghPjV8eJ55nGQuMOcFoygqD%2FmZYBhO%2F0lNs3l4Jyl0xbPmSeskKbXRldHWKamMrxfMugdKdmgH9kPyjlkrmJLp5Bsx8QJ%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-rby8eCZQ

W. B. Park
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

"Did we ever go through with that divorce we were talking about?"
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, December 12, 1994, p. 101

"Did we ever go through with that divorce we were talking about?"
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, December 12, 1994, p. 101

With cartoons by Edward Koren and W. B. Park

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1994-12-12/flipbook/100/

Edward Koren's cartoon, on the page opposite Park's, ventures into unusual territory in the cultural landscape:

"He's just discovered French Baroque organ music."
Edward Koren
The New Yorker, December 12, 1994, p. 100

 04839

Barbara Shermund: Beach Talk

A few years back Carlson & Stevenson Antiques of Manchester, Vermont acquired a series of original drawings by cartoonist Barbara Shermund. These drawings were promoted at art and antiques shows in San Francisco and Palm Beach.

A color cartoon reproduced on a promotional page from a Palm Beach show catalogue depicts two young women on the beach sporting two-piece bathing suits. They are discussing another woman's selection of a husband. The art dealers claim that the cartoon was published in the May 1950 issue of Esquire.

"She married a young architect—she liked the
way he was building his bank account."
Barbara Shermund
Original cartoon art

Barbara Shermund

Palm Beach Jewelry Art & Antique Show 2015 

Published on Dec 30, 2014, page 43

https://issuu.com/palmbeachshowgroup/docs/palm_beach_jewelry_art_antique_show

Note:  The entire Esquire archive is now online and it seems this cartoon may not be from Esquire at all. It certainly does not appear in the May 1950 issue. The wordplay, quite frankly, is a bit on the weak side.

The question then remains, where was it published?

Just a reminder: Attempted Bloggery seeks images of original art by Barbara Shermund for inclusion in future blog posts.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Barbara Shermund

The Beach

Original Cartoon Art (from Publications Other Than The New Yorker, That is)

Attempted Bloggery's Well-Built Index

  
02758

Barbara Shermund: On Bended Knee

Mr. Dawson proposes marriage in Barbara Shermund's cartoon from the May 1953 issue of Esquire. The female object of Mr. Dawson's affection is young, pretty, well provided for, and of independent mind. In the 1950s, educated young women considered cigarette smoking a sign of their sophistication, and a cigarette belonging to this young lady burns in an ashtray at right. Her passion, on the other hand, is not burning, so Mr. Dawson will have to be content to attend to her more trivial needs instead.

"The answer's no, Mr. Dawson—but while you're down, feel around for an earring[.]"
Barbara Shermund
Esquire, May 1953, page 66

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1953-vintage-cartoon-from-Esquire-Magazine-061212

https://classic.esquire.com/article/1953/5/1/the-answers-no-mr-dawson-but-while-youre-down-feel-around-for-an-earring

Note:  Happy 27th anniversary to my wife, who knew she could say no, but didn't.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Barbara Shermund

Esquire

Attempted Bloggery's Yes or No Index

  
02741

William Steig: Cause for Divorce

The American Magazine ran a recurring feature from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s called Cause for Divorce. It consisted of short press clippings from around the country documenting, we are told, how the eccentric behavior of one married partner had led the other partner to seek divorce. The source of these clippings was uncredited. Each divorce case was accompanied by a humorous illustration, often the work of William Steig, but occasionally of Syd Hoff or Jay Irving. Examples of this feature from 1942, each wonderfully illustrated by Steig, convey a consistently amusing, if obviously simplistic, understanding of the failure of marriages.

William Steig
Cause for Divorce:  Husband Gets the Bird
The American Magazine, January 1942, p. 102

Image added August 25, 2024

https://archive.org/details/the-american-magazine-v-133-n-01-1942-01-missing-pp-77-80/page/102/mode/2up

William Steig

Cause for Divorce:  Can Woo a Moose But Not His Wife
The American Magazine, February 1942, p. 124

Scan by Dick Buchanan

William Steig
Cause for Divorce:  Love Lost in Jungle
The American Magazine, March 1942, p. 116

Scan by Dick Buchanan

William Steig
Cause for Divorce:  Husband's Hamming Wrecks Home
The American Magazine, October 1942, p. 64

Scan by Dick Buchanan

 William Steig
Cause for Divorce:  Not the Man He Used to Be
The American Magazine, December 1942, p. 127

Scan by Dick Buchanan

This feature appeared in other issues as well, at least as early as April of 1938 and at least as late as August of 1944, quite possibly with other issues not enumerated below.

http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/s/s4078.htm#A98710

http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/s/s7303.htm#A189030

August 25, 2024 Update:  I added the January 1942 installment from the Internet Archive.

Note: Once again I extend my thanks to Dick Buchanan for providing all these beautiful scans. This is Dick's thirty-first contribution to Attempted Bloggery, but who's counting (besides me)? Dick curates the legendary Dick Buchanan Cartoon Clip Files. He also contributes regularly to Mike Lynch Cartoons, most recently a post entitled "From the Dick Buchanan Files: Women Cartoonists: Barbara Shermund, Hilda Terry, Mary Gibson and Dorothy McKay 1935 - 1952." Maybe I should tell Dick about my love for the Oxford comma.

Readers with other published examples of the Cause for Divorce feature or, even better, with loved, honored, and cherished originals, should send scans here for likely inclusion on the blog. Other works by William Steig, Syd Hoff, or Jay Irving are of course welcome too.

As noted, Cause for Divorce was also illustrated at times by Syd Hoff. A single fine example is posted on sydhoff.org.

Jay Irving's work has yet to appear on this blog.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

William Steig

Syd Hoff

The American Magazine

Dick Buchanan

Attempted Bloggery's Irreconcilable Index

02667

E. Simms Campbell in Esquire, October 1953

Men of all sizes, shapes, ages, and incomes are rendered helpless before the beautiful women of cartoonist E. Simms Campbell. Two full-page cartoons from the October 1953 issue of Esquire show the cartoonist in top form as an illustrator, but the captions deliver less punch than one might hope for. The first, in black and white, depicts a secretary in the lap of her boss, who is old enough to be her father—or is it grandfather? She may be young, but she knows what she wants. The second cartoon, in color, is an example of the "Harem Girls," at this point a twenty-year feature in the magazine, although the women haven't aged a day. They languish silent in their passivity and are unfazed by the goings on.

E. Simms Campbell
"But I don't want security—I want to get married!"
Esquire, October 1953, page 97

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1953-Classic-Esquire-Magazine-Cartoon-by-E-Simms-Campbell-NICE-ART...

E. Simms Campbell
"And whose little boy are you?"
Esquire, October 1953, page 115

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1953-Classic-Esquire-Magazine-Cartoon-Set-Gilbert-Bundy-Simms-Campbell...

Note:  Attempted Bloggery has been looking at the work of cartoonist E. Simms Campbell (1906-1971). Readers are asked to provide high-resolution scans or photos of original Campbell art or perhaps of forgotten published works such as these.

Is there more Campbell art in this issue of Esquire? Send me a scan or two and I'll add them to the mix.

External Links:

E. Simms Campbell's Wikipedia Entry

E. Simms Campbell on Ink Spill

E. Simms Campbell in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

E. Simms Campbell in Print: Insider Histories: Black Cartoonist E. Simms Campbell. Robert C. Harvey intervied by Michael Dooley. March 3, 2015

E. Simms Campbell on We Too Were Children, Mr. Barrie. October 6, 2012

E. Simms Campbell at American Art Archives

E. Simms Campbell on Eli Stein Cartoons.com:  "We All Have to Start Somewhere" Department. Case in Point No. 15. September 6, 2011

E. Simms Campbell in Potrzebie. October 10, 2007

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives

E. Simms Campbell

Esquire

Attempted Bloggery's Laptop Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

02482

E. Simms Campbell: Just Married

A groom on his wedding night discovers a bit more about his wife's past than he wishes to know in what is very likely a syndicated newspaper panel cartoon from the very first year of E. Simms Campbell's Cuties. As pointed out by Swann Galleries, which sold the original 1940 art in 2004 for twice the $1500 high estimate, it is actually quite unusual for this African American artist to depict an African American couple. Campbell goes out of his way to pose the bride alluringly, even as she takes in what has just happened.

E. Simms Campbell
"W-W-What's this[?]—'To the one and only Mable from the red caps of Grand Central Station!'"
Original art, 1940
Cuties[?]

E. Simms Campbell
Swann Galleries, Sale 1998, Printed & Manuscript African Americana, Lot 62
Hammer Price, February 26, 2004

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=1998++++++62+&refno=++534730&saletype=

Note:  Attempted Bloggery continues to examine the work of cartoonist E. Simms Campbell (1906-1971). I seek readers' scans or photos of original Campbell art or rare published works new to the internet.

External Links:

E. Simms Campbell's Wikipedia Entry

E. Simms Campbell on Ink Spill

E. Simms Campbell in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

E. Simms Campbell in Print: Insider Histories: Black Cartoonist E. Simms Campbell. Robert C. Harvey intervied by Michael Dooley. March 3, 2015

E. Simms Campbell on We Too Were Children, Mr. Barrie. October 6, 2012

E. Simms Campbell at American Art Archives

E. Simms Campbell on Eli Stein Cartoons.com:  "We All Have to Start Somewhere" Department. Case in Point No. 15. September 6, 2011

E. Simms Campbell in Potrzebie. October 10, 2007

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives

E. Simms Campbell

Attempted Bloggery's Index w-w-with a History

Attempted Bloggery Supports Net Neutrality

02468