Roger K.'s Copy of Quelques artistes et gens de lettres by Jean-Jacques Sempé

In 1992, Éditions Denoël published Quelques artistes et gens de lettres by Jean-Jacques Sempé, himself a cartoon artist and a man of letters. I don't think this book was ever printed in an English language edition. A superb copy is offered for sale by the Paris bookseller Librairie Le Feu Folet [Will-o'-the-Wisp, if you will]. It is reportedly inscribed to one Roger Karenvent although I don't believe that is the actual surname Sempé wrote. Nevertheless, the original recipient, Roger K., whoever he was, received a very nice drawing in his book of an artist at work on a still life. 

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Robert Kraus: Quoting Shakespeare in a Bar

Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand,
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover’s fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!

"A Midsummer Night's Dream," III.2

This last line is a most famous quotation from William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It generally would have been well known to the educated readers of The New Yorker. Cartoonist Robert Kraus made good use of it in 1963 with a drawing of two businessmen sitting in a bar after work. His original artwork showed up on eBay in 2015. In the magazine, the printed cartoon looks somewhat slapdash, but clearly some work went into the original, particularly with the highlighting. The artwork sold for an undisclosed Best Offer price for something less than $599.

"What fools these mortals be—present company excepted, of course."
Robert Kraus
Original cartoon art
The New Yorker,  September 28, 1963, page 45

"What fools these mortals be—present company excepted, of course."
Robert Kraus
Original cartoon art
The New Yorker,  September 28, 1963, page 45

"What fools these mortals be—present company excepted, of course."
Robert Kraus
Original cartoon art
The New Yorker,  September 28, 1963, page 45

Detail of two heads

Detail of the speaker's head

Detail of two figures at the bar

Printer's marks

Robert Kraus's signature

Verso

Verso

Verso

The caption, more or less

Robert Kraus
eBay Listing ended August 4, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Robert-Kraus-63-Rare-Original-New-Yorker-Cartoon-Noted-Cartoonist-Illustrator-/371338035346?hash=item567578c092%3Am%3AmS2s0TPBL7tcFHh5E_pd6Xg&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Robert Kraus
eBay Item Description

"What fools these mortals be—present company excepted, of course."
Robert Kraus
Original cartoon art
The New Yorker,  September 28, 1963, page 45

A cartoon by Robert Kraus

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1963-09-28/flipbook/044/

A cartoon by Dana Fradon from 1976 is set in a corporate board room. It riffs on the same familiar quotation in a somewhat related way:

A spot by Henry Martin and a cartoon by Dana Fradon

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1976-08-30/flipbook/036/

Note:  Original New Yorker artwork by Robert Kraus is something of a rarity even on this blog, but I would happily post more should good images happen to come my way.

Henry Martin

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