A Signed and Serpentine Copy of Love & Vermin by Will McPhail

I'm no expert on cartoon book titles, but I believe love sells better than vermin—so why mix the two? Are snakes even considered vermin? I would tell Will McPhail probably not, but they don't exactly fall on the love side of the equation either. The context here is Love & Vermin:  A Collection of Cartoons by The New Yorker's Will McPhail, from 2022. A copy on AbeBooks is signed by the artist and includes a drawing of a somnolent—or is it lovelorn?—snake protruding its forked-tongue. 

The U.K. seller is Widney Manor Books. I wonder if they serve high tea.

Will McPhail
AbeBooks listing accessed March 1, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Love-Vermin-Collection-Cartoons-New-Yorkers/32298689834/bd

Will McPhail
AbeBooks item description

Currency exchange rate as of March 1, 2026

https://wise.com/us/currency-converter/usd-to-gbp-rate

The book remains available at the time of posting.

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Sean's Copy of The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons

I don't know who Sean may be, but his copy of The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons (1998) was quite special. It was sold on eBay on September 11. The dust jacket art is by Michael Witte.

The unique feature of the book is the front free endpaper, which has drawings by five New Yorker cartoonists: Arnie Levin, Mick Stevens, Peter Steiner, Roz Chast, and Bob Mankoff. The cartoon census is one dog, one snake, one cat, and two human males. Through Stevens's signature, we learn that this assemblage dates to 1999, the year after publication.

Title page

Facing cartoons by Danny Shanahan and James Stevenson

Cartoons by Tom Cheney and Donald Reilly

Cartoons by Jack Ziegler and, again, Stevenson

A cartoon by Bernard Schoenbaum and the roster of cartoonists in the book

Back cover cartoon by Lee Lorenz

The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons
eBay listing ended September 11, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187559204260?_skw=signed+Yorker&epid=512875&itmmeta=01K5QGH0KS6DRRVXFTWR0EVASE&hash=item2bab6655a4:g:Uj8AAeSwlp1owhXH&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1e0PK9611tjD3x4MYjI0UTSilszT%2BAjheAETZrqA%2BeDAChD4%2FT8ebUMX9wyG4MjDVdGz%2F9u5aSmrgQHn4x%

2FvWoveYnH88BkXfKkbxK5zPDRcoo4VKcQ%2BsNjvVPe5%2BqY0QjPF80xGjBL7hFLoNVd8LEdMpM5NU1iJR7oR4A54NRjgjcjY9JO0tqgMfWR%2FE%2FyCMzLf939jKTQ2vqx3aus%2FC4VW8DFyWkuiJ69jhLyGcV6hsXw4JpWKDhdRF4H1GAymFkp%2Bp4IpH1G%2BAxlBQXNJMqkCu47j6wTvL9BCj%2FQzlwBzQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4KKxPCtZg

The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons
eBay item description

Note:  I'm just a simple blogger who would like to post other endpaper drawings by other New Yorker cartoonists in other New Yorker books of this ilk. See what you can do.

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #829

I needed some direction for The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #829 from the issue of November 28, 2022. My classy caption is shown below. The drawing is by Lonnie Millsap.

"Everywhere you look, there's porn."

These captions were just too rigid:

"As if we can't read..."
"Oh, good. We can go back to slithering."
"They're becoming more inclusive."
"You can thank universal access."

December 10, 2022 Update:  The Finalists

December 12, 2022 Update:  For my vote, I went with the caption from Austin.

 

January 1, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #824

Let's bungle in the jungle with The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #824 from the issue of October 24, 2022. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by David Borchart.

"Wild cat got your tongue?"

October 31, 2022 Update:  The Finalists

November 7, 2022 Update:  I voted for the caption from Baltimore.

November 14, 2022 Update:  The Winner

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William Steig: Reptiles I'm Always Meeting

Four original pen-and-ink book illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist William Steig were sold at auction yesterday in Clintondale, New York. They were originally published in Will Cuppy's book How to Become Extinct (1941), appearing in the chapter "Reptiles I'm Always Meeting." The drawings depict four snakes: The Garter Snake, The Rattlesnake, Own Your Own Snake, and The Glass Snake. The drawings have a lot of charm, especially given their reptilian subject matter. The Garter Snake image may easily be described as romantic. Pencil lines are visible throughout the set. Correction fluid was used judiciously in the bow of Own Your Own Snake.

Bidding opened at $300 online and the lot of four drawings sold at Kensington Estate Auctions for $625, well within the broad $400 to $800 estimate. These illustrations were just offered in the June 9 Illustration Art sale at Swann Galleries, where they failed to sell with a presale estimate of $1,200 to $1,800. That estimate wasn't necessarily too high; the final Kensington sale price suggests that with a reserve set reasonably at half the low estimate, the Swann sale might have been successful.

William Steig
Kensington Estate Auctions listing accessed August 7, 2022

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/william-steig-1907-2003-original-book-illustratio-50-c-00f4a3e815

Sold:

Unsold:

William Steig
Swann Galleries Illustration Art, June 9, 2022, lot 132

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/WILLIAM-STEIG-(1907-2003)-Reptiles-Im-Always-Meeting?saleno=2608&lotNo=132&refNo=796222

August 10, 2022 Update:  Thanks to David from Manhattan for pointing out that the first edition of How to Become Extinct dates from 1941, not 1983.

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Gahan Wilson: On the Steps of the Reptile House

Cartoonist Gahan Wilson is known for his macabre sense of humor. Nevertheless, his drawings can have some charm as well. An original drawing from his collection "...and then we'll get him!" (1978) was sold last year on eBay for $275. It is set on the steps of a city zoo's reptile house and features a guard encountering an old friend.

"So that's where you got to!"
Gahan Wilson
Original cartoon art
"...and then we'll get him!" (1978)

Detail

Gahan Wilson's signature

"So that's where you got to!"
Gahan Wilson
Original cartoon art
"...and then we'll get him!" (1978)

Gahan Wilson
eBay listing ended September 3, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255119426195?hash=item3b664d8293%3Ag%3A8R0AAOSwsLlhMS1m&nma=true&si=64J6TuENCQvl%252FEQuIbsoMEcDQlw%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Gahan Wilson
eBay item description

Note:  As this gag was reportedly published several times, including in "...and then we'll get him!" (1978), it would be remiss of me not to put out a call for any and all known publication information. Once something's on the blog, I need to know everything. Images of other original cartoon art by Gahan Wilson would be welcome as well.

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