My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for November/December 2018

Here's a tasting menu of my entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for November/December 2018. Moment, of course, is a magazine which covers topics of Jewish interest and many of their caption contests, including this one, are skewed towards Jewish humor. Multiple entries in this contest are permitted. The drawing is by Benjamin Schwartz.

"Relax. I'm an omnivore no more."
"I will not eat you in a tree.
I will not eat you in the sea."
"Scuttle. This is the kosher corner."
"No, not even in a month with the letter r."
"Some prankster taped a fake OU to your backside!"
"Where can I find imitation crab?"
"Then one day the scales fell from my eyes, except that
I don't have any."

January 16, 2018 Update:  The Finalists

March 22, 2019 Update:  The Winner

Glossary of Jewish humor:  Shellfish can never be kosher. You knew that. Neither can sharks, for that matter, because they don't have scales. Imitation crab can be kosher, although it doesn't have to be. OU is a trusted kosher certification provided by the Orthodox Union. There, that wasn't so bad, was it?


Note:  Last issue's Moment profile of some of its Caption Contest contributors may still be found here.



Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Benjamin Schwartz

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Cartoon Caption Contest

All the Caption Contests, Great and Small

Attempted Bloggery's Hard-Shelled Index

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Arthur Rackham: The Sleeping Beauty with a Drawing of Merlin

Arthur Rackham's illustrations for The Sleeping Beauty (1920) by C. S. Evans are mostly executed in silhouette, but a souvenir drawing of the character Merlin dated Christmas 1920 and laid into a first edition of the book is decidedly not. Merlin, his facial expression visible, is shown intently thumbing through one of his "books of magic lore."

Arthur Rackham
Merlin
Signed and dated Christmas 1920

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks Listing Retrieved December 14, 2018

https://www.abebooks.com/Sleeping-Beauty-Evans-Rackham-Arthur-London/30174990731/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=readmore_low

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25451/25451-h/25451-h.htm

Note:  Books by Arthur Rackham containing original drawings are somewhat scarce and always worth a look. Please send along scans or photographs of whatever you can conjure through magic lore.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Arthur Rackham

Books with Original Drawings

Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Magic Index. Or is it Magical?

 02779

Ronald Searle: Commercial Christmas

Many of Ronald Searle's Christmas illustrations captured a special luminous joy, but he could also be critical of the holiday's commercialism. Three unpublished illustrations for a circa 1960 Holiday magazine article entitled "Christmas Lifemanship" were apparently owned by Hilary Knight, whose conception of Eloise was somewhat influenced by Searle's devilish St. Trinian's girls. The watercolors were sold off at Bonham's earlier this month. Unfortunately, only one of the three is illustrated in the catalogue.

Ronald Searle
Commercial Christmas
from Christmas Lifemanship
Holiday, unpublished, c. 1960

Ronald Searle
Bonhams, December 5, 2018

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24899/lot/20/

Note:  If you haven't seen the Christmas cards that Ronald Searle sent to his friends, you're in for a real treat. They're collected on Perpetua, the Ronald Searle Tribute blog, here. See what I mean by "luminous joy?"

I would love to hear from the buyer of this lot, or from anyone who might have photographed the other two drawings in this suite while they were at Bonhams.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Ronald Searle

Holiday

Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Blogmanship Index

 02778

E. Simms Campbell: Santa's Strategy

A mother stops to apply lipstick and the toy store Santa Claus takes notice. Even the children realize Santa's up to something in this 1937 Esquire cartoon by E. Simms Campbell.

"—and what is your phone number, little man?"
E. Simms Campbell
Esquire, January 1937, page 55

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1937-Simms-Campbell-Comic-Art-Esquire-Santa-Claus-Risque-Sexy-Mom-Kids-Toyland/162938289070?hash=item25efe0fbae:g:71AAAOSwMEtab3mx

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

E. Simms Campbell

Esquire

Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Coded Index

02777

A Clare Briggs Drawing for Flu Season

It is now officially flu season in the State of New York. Chances are the drawing accompanying a 1915 autograph letter by Clare Briggs to a fan depicts nothing more serious than the common cold, but one can't be too careful. 

AbeBooks Listing Retrieved January 9, 2017

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=21443772048&searchurl=kn%3DClare%2BBriggs%26sortby%3D1

Clare Briggs
AbeBooks Item Description Retrieved January 9, 2017

December 23, 2018 Update:  Well, what do you know? Just three days prior to my posting this letter and drawing, Mike Lynch posted a vintage 1913 video which includes Clare Briggs making a demonstration drawing of a very similar image. This must have been a well known Briggs subject, as he chose it for both the 1913 film demonstration and the 1915 souvenir drawing.

Video Still 0:56

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Clare Briggs

Autograph Drawing, Signed

Autograph Letter, Signed

Winter

Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Seasonal Index

02776

Laurent de Brunhoff: Babar's Ski Jump

Winter begins today here in the Northern Hemisphere. Let's celebrate with an original illustration of a favorite winter sport from a 1973 Babar book by Laurent de Brunhoff. Just don't try this at home.

The challenge in creating an illustration like this is to make Babar appear to be airborne  in the middle foreground rather than, say, standing on a hill in the background. It helps that the line of the mountain behind Babar's torso is indicated with a light broken line. To my eye, de Brunhoff has acquitted himself very well here, and without the use of any speed lines or shadows!

Laurent de Brunhoff
The Jump
Original book illustration
Meet Babar and His Family, 1973

Laurent de Brunhoff
The Jump
Framed original book illustration
Meet Babar and His Family, 1973

Laurent de Brunhoff
Swann Auction Galleries
Illustration Art
Sale 2465, Lot 31
December 14, 2017
Hammer Price $9,500

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2465++++++31+&refno=++740403&saletype=

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Laurent de Brunhoff

Original Book Illustration

Skiing

Winter


Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Agony-of-Defeat Index

02775

Howard Baer: What Santa Needs to Know

In the January 1941 issue of Esquire, cartoonist Howard Baer reminds us not to keep important information from Santa Claus. Many Esquire gags with department store Santas involve conversations that go over the heads of the children. Putting the abbreviated Xmas in the printed caption instead of the full word  Christmas seems to be a bit of lax editing. Do people really say "Xmas?"

"Don't forget to tell Santa where you live, darling, and that Daddy is in South America for Xmas[.]"
Howard Baer
Esquire, January 1941, page 27

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/1941-ESQUIRE-MAGAZINE-Comic-Page-Don-t-forget-to-tell-Santa-where-you-live/163028012278?_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D40971%26meid%3D1a29cad8c370414ba7375c4906d4ced9%26pid%3D100752%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D163028012254%26itm%3D163028012278&_trksid=p2047675.c100752.m1982

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Howard Baer

Esquire

Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Lax Index

02774

Signed Poster of Ralph Steadman's Little Match Girl

In 1986, Ralph Steadman illustrated The Flying Trunk and Other Stories from Andersen by Naomi Lewis. A poster of "The Little Match Girl" published to support the Save the Children Fund was signed by Mr. Steadman in 1998. It was offered at a reasonable price last year on eBay, but it did not find a buyer.

Ralph Steadman
Signed 1986 poster
"Published in aid of The Save The Children Fund"
"Illustration by Ralph Steadman for 'The Little Match Girl' from
The Flying Trunk and Other Stories from Andersen by Naomi Lewis
Andersen Press · London"

Ralph Steadman's signature, 1998

Ralph Steadman
eBay Listing Retrieved June 13, 2017

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ralph-Steadman-SIGNED-Save-The-Children-Poster-UK-signed-by-artist-RARE-/263031461739?hash=item3d3de5976b:g:89kAAOSw32lYrxFc

Ralph Steadman
eBay Item Description

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Ralph Steadman

Hans Christian Andersen

Posters

Signed Posters

Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Matchless Index

02773

Pictorial Review: Barbara Shermund and Julian de Miskey

Dick Buchanan has dipped into his Cartoon Clip Files and sent along three full color scans from Pictorial Review. There are two covers, one from 1948 by Barbara Shermund and the other from 1949 by Julian de Miskey. From the 1949 issue he has also included a page of Shermund’s Sallies, a regular feature consisting of two color cartoons.

Regarding Pictorial Review, Dick writes, "This was a Sunday supplement which (I believe) originated with the Chicago Herald American and was distributed by King Features Syndicate to other papers. The only other paper I see from eBay research is the Sun-Telegraph..."

A new listing on eBay indicates that we can also include the San Francisco Examiner. There are probably a number of other newspapers as well. These cartoons were distributed to hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of homes around the country.

"I'm going to try to dig up a man!"
Barbara Shermund
Pictorial Review, July 18, 1948

Scan by Dick Buchanan

"Dear, I simply must get away for a couple of weeks' rest."
Julian de Miskey
Pictorial Review, January 16, 1949

Scan by Dick Buchanan

"She's so dumb she thinks minks are little animals!"
* * *
"Joe's kept his word all these years—
he's never looked at another woman!"
Barbara Shermund
Shermund's Sallies
Pictorial Review, January 16, 1949, page 8

Scan by Dick Buchanan

Note:  My thanks to Dick Buchanan who now makes his thirty-ninth contribution to this blog with his scans of rarely-seen work by Barbara Shermund and Julian de Miskey from Pictorial Review. Dick maintains the priceless Dick Buchanan Cartoon Clip Files and only he knows what forgotten gems will be next to emerge. He contributes regularly to Mike Lynch Cartoons, most recently a post for the holidays entitled "From the Dick Buchanan Files: Winter and Holiday Gag Cartoons 1939 - 1955." There's the link in aqua. You know what to do with it.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Barbara Shermund

Julian de Miskey

Dick Buchanan

At the Beach

Christmas

Attempted Bloggery's Forgotten Index

02772

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #643

In this corner, my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #643 for December 17, 2018. The drawing is by Mort Gerberg.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a B-flat."

I'm afraid these captions were lightweights:

"And now for something a little punchier..."
"Finesse is overrated."

December 31, 2018 Update:  The Finalists

January 7, 2019 Update:  I voted for the first caption.


January 14, 2018 Update:  The Winner

Note:  Last week cartoonist Mick Stevens served up some cake in a dark alley. My caption didn't cut it. Blow out the candles on Contest #642.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Mort Gerberg

Pianos

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest

All These Cartoon Caption Contests and More

Attempted Bloggery's Well-Tuned Index

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