Dana Fradon's Strong Man

In 2008, this original cartoon artwork by Dana Fradon was offered for sale by Russ Cochran's Comic Art Auction, where it apparently did not find a buyer despite the low estimate. The cartoon was published more than half a century earlier in the New Yorker of May 19, 1956. Performaing on stage, a strong man elevates a grand piano above his head while a sign off to the side reads "Piano by Steinway." The words on the sign were changed for publication, perhaps to take some of the emphasis off the Steinway brand name. I think the gag reads just fine the way Fradon originally had it.

Dana Fradon, original artwork for the New Yorker, May 19, 1956, page 116

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5761933

Dana Fradon, The New Yorker, May 19, 1956, page 116

The Conde Nast Store

http://www.condenaststore.com/-sp/Strong-man-lifting-a-piano-Sign-nearby-reads-Woloski-the-Great-Piano-New-Yorker-Cartoon-Prints_i8641956_.htm

Dana Fradon, The New Yorker, May 19, 1956, page 116

Dana Fradon, The New Yorker, May 19, 1956, page 116

Note: Another post with original artwork by Dana Fradon is here.

Michael Maslin's informative interview with Dana Fradon was just posted on Ink Spill here.

Some of Mr. Fradon's New Yorker work is on view in the Cartoon Bank here.

0949

Priceless George Price

I'm usually pretty forthcoming about reporting winning bids, at least when I know what they are. Generally, in the case of eBay, the information is readily available. In fact, I don't recall seeing a successful eBay sale before where the price went undisclosed. With the Make Offer feature on fixed-price items, the number of unaccepted offers is generally reported as well as the amount of any accepted offer, or so I thought. That's apparently no longer the case, or else I just haven't been paying attention.

This original art by George Price published in The New Yorker was offered on eBay with a fixed price of $5,000 and it sold for an undisclosed sum when a best offer was accepted. EBay is treating this as a private negotiation and private sale and therefore it does not possess transparency. We can speculate as to what the sale price might have been, I don't imagine we're likely ever to find out for certain.

In the 1988 article from The New York Times quoted  in the eBay listing, Price specifically warns against using the word priceless to describe his work. I'll have to remember that.

George Price, "Try to forgive me. I'm afraid I haven't been very
 good company for the past forty-six years."
Original artwork for The New Yorker, January 16, 1984, page 41.
The World of George Price:  A 55-Year Retrospective. New York:  Beaufort, 1988.

George Price, "Try to forgive me. I'm afraid I haven't been very good company for the past forty-six years."
Original framed and matted artwork for The New Yorker, January 16, 1984, page 41.
The World of George Price:  A 55-Year Retrospective. New York:  Beaufort, 1988.

George Price's signature

George Price, "Try to forgive me. I'm afraid I haven't been very good company for the past forty-six years."
The New Yorker, January 16, 1984, page 41

Nicholls Gallery 1984 Receipt

Best Offer Accepted April 12, 2013

George Price eBay Listing

George Price eBay Item Description

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-George-Price-New-Yorker-Cartoon-1984-/350760398603?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=VJo29%252F7WbHpl1SY9gWmnl4%252FkT80%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

George Price, "Try to forgive me. I'm afraid I haven't been very good company for the past forty-six years."
The New Yorker, January 16, 1984, page 41

George Price, "Try to forgive me. I'm afraid I haven't been very
good company for the past forty-six years."
The New Yorker, January 16, 1984, page 41

George Price, "Try to forgive me. I'm afraid I haven't been very good company for the past forty-six years."
Original artwork for The New Yorker, January 16, 1984, page 41
The World of George Price:  A 55-Year Retrospective. New York:  Beaufort, 1988

Note:  Below I've created a new label price? to indicate those blog posts for which I do not have the final sale result. In an essentially private sale such as this one the price is unlikely ever to be known, but there are also some sales results which were made public at one time but which are nevertheless unknown to me today. 

May 20, 2013 Update:  In the comments section, RockyPassage reports the sale price as $3,200.

May 22, 2013 Update:  With the sale price miraculously discovered, I have removed the price? label from this blog post, but it is still present on many others throughout the blog. You can see all blog posts in which the price is unknown here.

 0728

Richard Taylor's Musicians

Richard Taylor's drawing of orchestra musicians relaxing and warming up is a delightful spot drawing created for The New Yorker. It was sold on eBay in March for $249.

Richard Taylor, Musicians, Spot Drawing

Richard Taylor, Musicians, Detail

Richard Taylor, Musicians, eBay Winning Bid, March 17, 2013

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-NEW-YORKER-Cartoon-by-R-TAYLOR-Musicians-/121079175449?ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AUS%3A1123&item=121079175449&nma=true&si=VJo29%252F7WbHpl1SY9gWmnl4%252FkT80%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Richard Taylor, Musicians, eBay Winning Bid, March 17, 2013

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-NEW-YORKER-Cartoon-by-R-TAYLOR-Musicians-/121079175449?ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AUS%3A1123&item=121079175449&nma=true&si=VJo29%252F7WbHpl1SY9gWmnl4%252FkT80%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

This piece previously was offered at auction in February at RR Auctions in Amherst, New Hampshire with an estimate of $100-$200.

Richard Taylor, Musicians, Spot Drawing

RR Auction, February 13, 2013

http://www.icollector.com/Richard-Taylor_i15440598

Richard Taylor, Musicians, Spot Drawing

http://www.icollector.com/Richard-Taylor_i15440598

Note:  I don't know when this appeared in The New Yorker and I've no idea how to search for a spot drawing. If you should come across it in an old issue of the magazine, please let me know where you found it.

0719

William Steig's Lion Shoot

Back in 1949 The New Yorker took this lovely artwork by William Steig and ran it as a small spot drawing to lead off the "Goings on About Town" section. The drawing shows a caged lion at the zoo proud to have its photo taken. It could certainly have run instead as a fine cartoon in the body of the magazine, but it would look great anywhere.

The drawing came out of a major collection and was sold on eBay in late 2010 by Condé Nast on behalf of a client. It failed to find a buyer at the initial offering price, somewhere in the range of $4,500, but when the asking price was reduced to $2,200, it sold.

William Steig
 Pen, ink, and wash over pencil, 8 1/2 x 11"
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, June 4, 1949, Page 2
 Private Collection (eBay Image Courtesy of David from Manhattan)

William Steig, The New Yorker, June 4, 1949, Page 2

William Steig, The New Yorker, June 4, 1949, Page 2

William Steig
 Pen, ink, and wash over pencil, 8 1/2 x 11"
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, June 4, 1949, Page 2
Private Collection (eBay Image Courtesy of David from Manhattan)

Note:  I'm indebted to this piece's current owner for allowing me to share it here on the blog. If you too have original artwork by William Steig, published or unpublished, and would like to see it right here, drop me a lion. Sorry, line.

I did not keep a record of any of the other artwork from the collection sold on eBay at the same time as this piece in 2010, but I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who might have. The collection also included Sam Gross's famous frogs legs cartoon.

0713

George Price's Jack of All Trades

It has become commonplace for us to blame unsuccessful men for showing a lack of initiative in their work. Well, here's a situation where that's clearly not the case. In the days before the gas station mini-mart, it's hard to conceive of anything this poor service station owner could do to drum up more business. And just look at the price of gasoline!

George Price's marvelously detailed 1952 New Yorker cartoon tells its rather expansive story with his usual exacting line work, competent one-point perspective, and a lot of signage. The original artwork has changed hands at least twice in recent years, and it has undergone some restoration along the way. The earlier sale was at Skinner in 2010.

George Price, "At least you have to give him credit for trying."
Original artwork for The New Yorker, June 28, 1952, page 18

https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2517B/lots/608 

George Price, "At least you have to give him credit for trying."

Original artwork for The New Yorker, June 28, 1952, page 18

https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2517B/lots/608 

****

I'm not sure exactly when or for how much, but this same piece was also offered by Taraba Illustration Art, certainly more recently. The discolored paper overlay bearing the signature has now been treated by a paper conservator. Note how much better it looks now.

George Price, "At least you have to give him credit for trying."
Original artwork for The New Yorker, June 28, 1952, page 18

Caption

George Price, "At least you have to give him credit for trying."
Detail with signature

Taraba Illustration Art Listing

http://www.tarabaillustrationart.com/art159.shtml

George Price, "At least you have to give him credit for trying."

The New Yorker, June 28, 1952, page 18

George Price, "At least you have to give him credit for trying."

The New Yorker, June 28, 1952, page 18

0637

George Booth's Rules of Order

The following cartoon with a prehistoric setting was sold last month at New York's Swann Galleries. It seems that cartoonist George Booth was the first to appreciate that cavemen had a good intuitive feel for Robert's Rules of Order.

"This meeting was called in order to discuss the meat. It has been pointed
out that there is no more meat. A motion has been made to fight over the bones."
Inscribed "To Nancy! George Booth"
George Booth, original artwork for The New Yorker, April 28, 1980, page 53

Swann Galleries, January 24, 2013

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2300+++++112+&refno=++662086&saletype=

"This meeting was called in order to discuss the meat. It has been pointed

out that there is no more meat. A motion has been made to fight over the bones."

George Booth, The New Yorker, April 28, 1980, page 53

"This meeting was called in order to discuss the meat. It has been pointed

out that there is no more meat. A motion has been made to fight over the bones."

George Booth, The New Yorker, April 28, 1980, page 53

0619

George Booth's New Procedures

Just what the doctor ordered, here is cartoonist George Booth's decidedly retro take on the latest medical technology. Mr. Booth, as you can see, also mastered cut-and-paste technology back when you had to do it by hand with paper and scissors.

George Booth, "Doctor Lillywall has authorized new procedures."
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, 1994

George Booth, "Doctor Lillywall has authorized new procedures."
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, 1994

George Booth, "Doctor Lillywall has authorized new procedures."
Reverse of Original Artwork, The New Yorker, 1994

George Booth, "Doctor Lillywall has authorized new procedures."
Backing, The New Yorker, 1994

George Booth, eBay Winning Bid

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-Booth-Original-Cartoon-The-New-Yorker-Magazine-1994-/271120912414?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f2010d01e&nma=true&si=VJo29%2F7WbHpl1SY9gWmnl4%2FkT80%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

George Booth, eBay Item Description

http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-Booth-Original-Cartoon-The-New-Yorker-Magazine-1994-/271120912414?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f2010d01e&nma=true&si=VJo29%2F7WbHpl1SY9gWmnl4%2FkT80%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

January 27, 2012 Update:  Despite repeated attempts, I am unable to ascertain any publication history for this cartoon.

0557

Charles Addams: Christmas Time

Charles Addams indulged in some merrily anachronistic Christmas revelry more than 70 years ago in the pages of The New Yorker. It's hard to believe, but today we are more years removed from our 1940 predecessors than they were from their 19th-century, stagecoach-riding counterparts.

Charles Addams, Christmas Time
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, page 12
Heritage Auctions Listing, June 27, 2012

http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=5087&lotNo=78266

Charles Addams, Christmas Time
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, page 12
Heritage Auctions Listing, June 27, 2012

http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=5087&lotNo=78266

Charles Addams, Christmas Time Signature
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, page 12
Heritage Auctions Listing, June 27, 2012

http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=5087&lotNo=78266

Charles Addams, Christmas Time
The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, page 12
Heritage Auctions Listing, June 27, 2012

http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=5087&lotNo=78266

Charles Addams, [Christmas Time]
The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, page 12

Image added January 15, 2017

Charles Addams, [Christmas Time]
The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, page 12

Charles Addams, [Christmas Time]
The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, page 12

John Cameron, "Four in Hand," Currier & Ives, c. 1887

 http://www.imagekind.com/CURRIER--IVES-STAGE-COACH-art?IMID=7bbf7550-94be-443c-98c5-03e87fa02908

Charles Addams, Christmas Time
Original Artwork for The New Yorker, December 21, 1940, P. 12
Heritage Auctions Listing, June 27, 2012

http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=5087&lotNo=78266

0546