My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #768

I tried to put a little spin on The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #768 corresponding to the issue of August 23, 2021. My caption is shown below. The cartoon is by Will McPhail.

"Just tell him you're all tied up."

These captions didn't catch fire:

"What kind of newfangled paddle is that?"
"I promise I'll go easy on him."
"Why can't he just wait and play the winner?"

August 30, 2021 Update:  The Finalists

September 6, 2021 Update:  I voted for the caption from Cambridge.

September 17, 2021 Update:  The Winner

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Peter Arno and Otto Soglow in the Operating Room

Was cartoonist Otto Soglow aware of a drawing that Peter Arno published in College Humor? Were the New Yorker's editors? Here are two cartoons published more than four years apart in the different magazines. Both cartoons have similar setups but different payoffs. Might Soglow perhaps have seen the Arno drawing? It's a medical mystery.

"Peter Arno's "Side-Show," College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, October 1937, page 11

http://attemptedbloggery.blogspot.com/2016/03/peter-arnos-side-show-for-october-1937.html

Otto Soglow, The New Yorker, January 24, 1942, page 14

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1942-01-24#folio=014

Note:  If the Arno image from College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, dated October 1937 looks familiar, that's because it appeared on this blog in my March 25 post. The magazine I photographed is part of the Steven Boss humor magazine collection at Columbia University located in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Comics librarian Karen Green is the person to contact regarding access to the collection. Why should I have all the fun?

Otto Soglow doesn't get nearly enough play on this blog. Whose fault is that?

Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist by Michael Maslin is at the top of my reading list.

Peter Arno posts on Ink Spill. 

Peter Arno in Chris Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery. 

Peter Arno in the April 26 Record.

Peter Arno in April's Vanity Fair. 

Peter Arno in the March 29 Wall Street Journal. 

Peter Arno posts here on Attempted Bloggery. 

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Peter Arno's Side-Show for October 1937

Peter Arno's cartoons for the October 1937 issue of College Humor are wordless; they tell their story without the use of any captions. In the first drawing, a secretary is shocked to learn that all is not well within the office. This cartoon seems to be an anomaly in terms of subject matter. Is this really the lighthearted, devil-may-care corporate gag the college crowd was looking for in1937?

"Peter Arno's "Side-Show," College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, October 1937, page 10

On the second page, Arno has a two-panel gag revealing the back-and-forth of the operating room.

"Peter Arno's "Side-Show," College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, October 1937, page 11

Note:  Artist Peter Arno published cartoons over many years in College Humor. This week I have presented his contributions from five issues:  July 1936 and May, July, September, and October 1937. His New Yorker cartoons are generally well known, but there are many other forgotten Arno treasures hidden away in hard-to-find issues of College Humor and likely many other magazines. Ideally, these lost classics should be seen and appreciated by today's Arno fans. So to all you collectors of vintage paper, get out your camera and start shooting. If you've got the Arno, I've got the blog.

What sort of a man created these cartoons? Peter Arno's fascinating story will be told in Michael Maslin's brand new biography coming your way on April 19 from Regan Arts. Peter Arno:  The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist is available right now for pre-order on Amazon.com, where you can also get new ping-pong paddles for your home theater. Home operating theater, that is.

Michael Maslin's Ink Spill blog has many fine posts about Peter Arno, all of which are worth a look-see. Some of the recent ones even mention the College Humor posts that have been all the rage here at Attempted Bloggery this week.

This copy of College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, dated October 1937 resides in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection at Columbia University. Of the magazine issues currently in the collection, this is the fifth and last with any Arno cartoons. The good news on the horizon is that more magazines donated by Mr. Boss—including other issues of College Humor—will soon be making their way to the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Thanks once again to comics librarian Karen Green for making  my research possible. Left to my own devices, I'd still be trying to find the card catalogue. By the way, I hope to have several more posts based on the Boss collection in the not-too-distant future.

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Ping-Pong Diplomacy: Mischa Richter Proposed New Yorker Cover Art

Mischa Richter's cover proposal for the New Yorker magazine shows Uncle Sam lobbing a ping-pong ball over the Great Wall of China. The artwork is undated, but such an illustration surely must refer to China's ping-pong diplomacy of April 1971. Table tennis players were the first American delegation of any sort to visit the Chinese capital since 1949. This thaw in Sino-American relations was to lead to President Nixon's historic visit to China.

As an artistic comment on contemporary current events, the rejected cover art is more akin to today's topical New Yorker covers than to the type of art the magazine was publishing in the early 1970's. In fact, Richter's conception is not all that dissimilar to the photograph by Norman Webster that was published on the cover of Time magazine's April 26, 1971 issue. That week the New Yorker's published cover was an impressionistic image of Central Park by Arthur Getz which brilliantly captured the light and color of early spring while making no comment whatsoever on any momentous international events.

Mischa Richter, Proposed New Yorker cover art, c. 1971

No, it isn't "tennis."

Swann Auction Galleries, January 22, 2015
Sale 2372, Lot 198
Hammer Price $300

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2372+++++198+&refno=++698777&saletype=

Time, April 26, 1971
Norman Webster, Toronto Globe & Mail

EBay.com

Arthur Getz, The New Yorker, April 24, 1971

Note:  Don't stop now. Why not see all the blog posts here about Mischa Richter?

Studying further examples of proposed but rejected New Yorker cover art is sure to make you a more sought-after dinner party guest.

Arthur Getz illustrated more New Yorker covers than any other artist. Surely he's good for a few blog posts too.

Or maybe ping-pong is your thing...

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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #420

If it please the Court, I present my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #420 for March 24, 2014. The dynamic cartoon is by Drew Dernavich. The sedentary caption is by me.

"I miss the old lawyerly back-and-forth."

Here are a few of my unused captions, ladies and gentlemen of the jury:

"For once I can't get Justice Thomas to pipe down."

"She's put a new spin on the argument."
"I'd like to see the other branches get this innovative."
"And this is why we don't allow cameras."
"She just made a controversial point."
"Advantage First Amendment."
"I missed the opening salvo."

March 31, 2014 Update:  The Finalists

April 14, 2014 Update:  Wining Caption

Note:  Last week's New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest was based on a drawing by P. C. Vey and set in a doctor's examination room. The doctor walks in with a giant hypodermic needle. What's funny about that? I sure don't know. You can see the clinical results of Contest #419 here.

While I may may not be able to write a decent New Yorker caption, Moment magazine isn't so picky. Four times running I have been selected as a finalist in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest. Is that a record? I wouldn't have any idea. Ask the people over at Guinness. In the meantime, I have yet to write a winning caption and I doubt this month will be any different. I don't myself know whom to vote for. You can get the whole story here and vote for your favorite caption here.

My previous attempts to write captions for Drew Dernavich drawings have not been, shall we say, my best efforts. See my older posts concerning this artist here.

Soon I'll be posting my 1,100th blog post. Drumroll, please!

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