A Presidential Copy of Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Raptis Rare Books of Palm Beach offers a thrice-signed copy of Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72, by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson with illustrations by Ralph Steadman (who knows better than to call himself "doctor"). Author and illustrator have signed the title page. The page opposite is signed by Jimmy Carter. One assumes that the president's signature was obtained at a later date than the other two. 

Readers should feel free to guess the asking price before scrolling down. Hint: shipping is free. 

By the way, that striking cover and title illustration is not by Steadman but by poster artist Thomas W. Benton. It's a harrowing comment on America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Thompson's coverage of the 1972 Nixon vs. McGovern campaign was published in installments in Rolling Stone and collected in book form the following year. 

Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman
AbeBooks listing accessed July 3, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Fear-Loathing-Campaign-Trail-72-Thompson/32233892591/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook

Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman
AbeBooks item description

04998

Mischa Richter: Cause for Celebration

It's ridiculous for the original of a published New Yorker cartoon to sell for as little as Mischa Richter's drawing from the issue of September 24, 1990. The drawing still holds up well more than three decades after its printing, although the rogues' gallery called to mind today is decidedly more partisan and political. The drawing is fairly detailed and should be worth considerably more than the $33 it fetched on eBay. A lot of the responsibility for this goes to the seller, whose misleading title suggests the offering is a signed magazine rather than an original magazine cartoon.

Just Acquitted
Mischa Richter
Original cartoon art
The New Yorker, September 24, 1990, p. 39

Detail

Detail

Mischa Richter
eBay listing ended April 17, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/386855618812?itmmeta=01HZTNBXJ3TSAQ2F18AJZKA84G&hash=item5a126448fc:g:eAcAAOSwTXdl8c0O&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4JQoBdIzjteBnIdblv6Zkxo7s0%2Bh3kpfIFFLDrOKy1LbOIQvZoRjNgGFBr3lBmeQG5GKpC01gRgxFDpwaqJe8vCkG%2BeIEETzmW9hf2VRT4

ugR31SwT394P0HJlaBcWQoD9ievATyVGyLhHeKJoI5cxdrJ4Rkm9iKDmmepUF03QPdafwnrY5hBYrZ8EQMIxNBCbJmT1IDhHF88SaTO4a4iURvkp1I16wwAV9OzECg53ICLfwshe52tzj9o0UwXIs%2BDxtgleTogAYzFK4THG5vnoGMXRPOsxH9mgbQ1Quqr--2%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4rZr9X-Yw

Mischa Richter
eBay item description

Mischa Richter
eBay bid history
If you ever feel the need to place an early bid, don't.

Just Acquitted
Mischa Richter
The New Yorker, September 24, 1990, p. 39

Just Acquitted
Mischa Richter
Original cartoon art
The New Yorker, September 24, 1990, p. 39

With a spot drawing by S. Wilson and a cartoon by Mischa Richter

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1990-09-24/flipbook/038/

Spot of a basket
S. Wilson
The New Yorker, September 24, 1990, p. 38

Note:  And just who exactly is spot illustrator S. Wilson? I know this person is not a New Yorker cover artist or cartoonist, and not author/illustrator Sandra Wilson. But that's all I know.

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Mischa Richter: A Fine Speech

Original cartoon art by Mischa Richter published in The New Yorker of December 22, 1975 was sold on eBay this past summer. Washington politicians are certainly ripe targets for political satire in any era, but this particular cartoon set during the 1970s recession hinges on some surprisingly uninspired wordplay.

"It's a fine speech, but take out the word unemployed and change it to unemployment."
Published as "It's a fine speech, but let's take out 'unemployed' and change it to 'unemployment.'"
Mischa Richter
Original art
The New Yorker, December 22, 1975, p. 32

Yet it does have a point to make. When economic upheavals are discussed, there is a tendency perhaps for some politicians to step back from the direct effects on people and to look instead at more global abstractions. Richter clearly has something to say here, but the caption's linguistic quibble is hardly uproarious.

Detail

Mischa Richter's caption and signature

Mischa Richter
eBay listing ended August 3, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354857616560?hash=item529f2984b0:g:vCcAAOSw-m1kjtp8&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4KzcR27GENF6C6xFv0ufPsimVFTsHiUTuau%2Bf0%2BygV%2BT%2BBWnjFdvXpCqRxsVpKdXrQiFx335JK%2F7XuI4EzYT1imKVtnGb%2Fn%2Fl%2FCGm2yj%2BoKUSpXZWoZokzFhOsE2GlvZsl4qPAvi5R95vFbTxC2e6bE5e%2BF43f4gQ

upm4HF2EBcWxEjlYcpw8m3PLHWjRKcpkDJElracfUpH321gnZMCtcYNtrIAN%2FqVgsiG7kkF7ByBiARGB3QBdz%2BN6bJYC0v2aRGV2yqfVWjV8%2FdAKMwt2AP1cz%2Fk7g4qK47RGK962%2BW%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5DZ7sXsYg

Mischa Richter
eBay item description

Mischa Richter
eBay bid history
As so often happens, the last bidder wins it.

"It's a fine speech, but let's take out 'unemployed' and change it to 'unemployment.'"
Mischa Richter
The New Yorker, December 22, 1975, p. 32

"It's a fine speech, but take out the word unemployed and change it to unemployment."
Published as "It's a fine speech, but let's take out 'unemployed' and change it to 'unemployment.'"
Mischa Richter
Original art
The New Yorker, December 22, 1975, p. 32

A cartoon by Mischa Richter and a spot drawing by Henry Martin

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1975-12-22/flipbook/032/

Henry Martin

Spot drawing of Christmas ornaments

The New Yorker, December 22, 1975, p. 33

January 13, 2024 Update:  This original artwork was shared today on Michael Maslin's Ink Spill as an example of Mischa Richter channeling to some degree the style of Charles Saxon.

04492

Views of Arizona: Signs of the Political Times

Last week my travels took me to Arizona. This week I'll show some of the photos I took while there.

Arizona is a red state with midterm political primaries coming up on August 28, 2018. Senate candidate Joe Arpaio is a former sheriff who has been convicted of criminal contempt for his racial profiling. He was, of course, granted a pardon by President Trump. Kate Brophy McGee is one of the current Senators from Arizona. Rodney Glassman is a former Democrat running as a Republican for the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Political placards
East Camelback Road, Scottsdale

02617

An Unconventional Convention: Garrett Price Proposed New Yorker Cover Art

Can a proposed New Yorker cover be a little too ambitious? Garrett Price depicted familiar scenes from a political convention in a variety of artistic styles and placed them on the spiraling walls of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Guggenheim Museum. The resulting hodgepodge doesn't quite work as a convincing political reflection or as an artistic commentary. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened its Fifth Avenue site in 1959 so this concept art can provisionally be dated to the summer of 1960, the next Presidential election year. The delegations of Alaska and Hawaii are shown prominently and this was the first Presidential election in which those new states participated.

Garrett Price
Proposed New Yorker cover art, c. 1960

Detail

Detail
Note the prominent placement of Alaska and Hawaii. The 1960 Presidential election (Nixon vs. Kennedy) was the first in which the two newest states got to participate.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Garrett Price's signature

Verso

Garrett Price
eBay listing ended March 5, 2017

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Garrett-Price-ORIGINAL-THE-NEW-YORKER-COVER-Old-Modernist-PAINTING-4-NO-RESERVE-/361910161787?hash=item544386d17b%3Ag%3AcZMAAOSwTuJYrpDy&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Garrett Price
eBay Item Description

eBay Bid History
The prize goes to the very last bid—by one second.

Garrett Price
Proposed New Yorker cover art

Spoiler Alert:  In the 1960 Presidential election, Democrat John F. Kennedy defeated Republican Richard M. Nixon.


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Let's Not Talk Politics

In 1940, Whitney Darrow, Jr. reminded us, in the pages of the New Yorker, why we should not talk politics. It's seventy-five years later and now—especially now—it's still a good subject to avoid.

Whitney Darrow, Jr., The New Yorker, May 18, 1940, page 17

Whitney Darrow, Jr., The New Yorker, May 18, 1940, page 17

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1940-05-18#folio=016

Note:  So, to play it safe, I won't be discussing politics here—all Inauguration week.

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02074