James Trembath in College Humor, January 1940

A forgotten magazine cartoon by James Trembath was posted by Michael Maslin on his Ink Spill blog ten days ago after fellow cartoonist Paul Karasik brought it to his attention. The drawing had appeared in the November 18, 1929 issue of Judge and lampooned an ongoing series of manhole drawings by Otto Soglow that were appearing in The New Yorker at the time. The impeccably illustrated discussion appears here.

Trembath was born in Michigan in 1888. He was a regular contributor of covers and cartoons to Judge and other publications, but his work never appeared in Harold Ross's New Yorker. His art isn't that familiar today, but I can share here a couple of obscure cartoons from College Humor, Volume 11, No. 1, the January 1940 issue.

Compared with the sendup of Soglow, I find these to be a little disappointing. Of course, they reflect the attitudes of their time filtered through the sophomoric lens of a magazine aimed at the college crowd:

"Why, no, ma'am—what makes you think there's a cop in the kitchen?"
James Trembath
College Humor, January 1940, p. 13

"It's no use, Inspector, she won't stop talking."
James Trembath
College Humor, January 1940, p. 19

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Saul Steinberg: Window Upright Eiffel Tower Center

Even after all these years, Saul Steinberg's still lives can simply take one's breath away. Just about the only think not to like about the 1979 colored pencil drawing sold yesterday in Swann Auction Galleries' Modern & Post-War Art sale is its title: Window Upright Eiffel Tower Center. But one could learn to live with it.

Saul Steinberg
Swann Galleries Modern & Post-War Art listing of May 22, 2025

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/SAUL-STEINBERG-(1914---1999-AMERICAN)-Window-Upright-Eiffel-?saleno=2705&lotNo=81&refNo=824292

Sold, for a hammer price of $19,000.

Note:  Your original Saul Steinberg artwork too can be shared on this blog, especially if it has a good title.

04949

Bob Mankoff: If a Tree Falls in the Forest

An original cartoon by Bob Mankoff was sold at Wechsler's Tuesday alongside the gem by Michael Maslin we saw here in yesterday's post. 

"Dad, if a tree falls in the forest, and the media aren't there
to cover it, has the tree really fallen?"
Bob Mankoff
Original art

"Dad, if a tree falls in the forest, and the media aren't there
to cover it, has the tree really fallen?"
Bob Mankoff
Framed and glazed original art

Bob Mankoff's signature

The auction house states it is a drawing for The New Yorker. Maybe it is; that fussy use of the word media as a plural noun could certainly reflect the magazine's sensibility in, say, the era of editor William Shawn. Or not. But I wasn't able to locate the cartoon in the magazine's archives. Still, it could be hiding from me somewhere.

Bob Mankoff
Weschler's listing of May 20, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/robert-mankoff-american-b-1944-dad-if-a-tree-fall-155-c-71a44ffaa8?objectID=197168329&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=f0e8e4c305e81ae1e1cd38eff1073ec1

Bob Mankoff
Weschler's item description

Note:  I'd like to hear from anyone who may know where this was published, if indeed it was. Collectors owning original art by Bob Mankoff who would like to share it here on the old blog should contact me before offering it to any new media. Media, singular.

04948

Michael Maslin: A Traffic Stop

An original New Yorker drawing by Michael Maslin was on the auction block yesterday in Rockville, Maryland. The cartoon brings us to a traffic stop in which a police officer has pulled over a produce truck driver. 

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to issue you a summons for
reckless grammar and driving without an apostrophe."
Michael Maslin
Original art
The New Yorker, September 7, 1987, p. 37
Mixed Company:  Cartoons by Michael Maslin, Fireside, 1990, p. 3

The artwork comes nicely framed and glazed:

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to issue you a summons for
reckless grammar and driving without an apostrophe."
Michael Maslin
Framed original art
The New Yorker, September 7, 1987, p. 37
Mixed Company:  Cartoons by Michael Maslin, Fireside, 1990, p. 3

Michael Maslin's signature

Weschler's, the auction house, has misidentified the artist as Eric Maskin. Maskin, born in 1950, is really a Nobel Prize winning economist and mathematician who teaches at Harvard. His accomplishments are considerable but, in the last analysis, he does not draw cartoons for The New Yorker. There's always a chance, when the artist is incorrectly identified, that interested bidders might never be able to find the piece. Twelve hours before the sale, it seemed this might be the case. With an estimate of $50 to $100 the bidding was at an anemic $35:

Michael Maslin
Weschler's listing accessed May 19, 2025, twelve hours before the auction

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/Eric-Maskin-American-b.-1950-,-Sorry,-But-I-m-G-154-c-3E644ED861?utm_term=new%20yorker&utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=keywordalerts&utm_content=341704&utm_term=341704

Michael Maslin
Weschler's item description

Sold!

[End of Weschler's listing]

The art first appeared in the magazine in 1987 and subsequently has been reproduced on a number of products. It also appeared in Maslin's collection Mixed Company (Fireside, 1990).

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to issue you a summons for
reckless grammar and driving without an apostrophe."
Michael Maslin
The New Yorker, September 7, 1987, p. 37
Mixed Company:  Cartoons by Michael Maslin, Fireside, 1990, p. 3

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to issue you a summons for
reckless grammar and driving without an apostrophe."
Michael Maslin
Original art
The New Yorker, September 7, 1987, p. 37
Mixed Company:  Cartoons by Michael Maslin, Fireside, 1990, p. 3

With a spot drawing by Judith Shahn and a cartoon by Michael Maslin

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1987-09-07/flipbook/036/

* * *

Spot of table and chair
Judith Shahn
The New Yorker, September 7, 1987, p. 36

Works by two New Yorker cartoonists were sold back-to-back in the auction, probably from the same consignor:

Note:  This blogger would be happy to post other examples of original art by Michael Maslin. Or Eric Maskin.

04947

W. B. Park: Outside the Movie House

A 1994 New Yorker cartoon by W. B. Park takes us out to the cinema—if there's any doubt, its name is The Cinema. But more important is what's currently showing at the movie house and who's going to see it. Park's original art was sold on eBay in February.

Health Plan:  The Movie
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, February 21, 1994, p. 114

The drawing needs no caption. At first it looks as if the movie marquee is the joke. Then we see the people standing in the ticket line, and one in particular. This serves as a one-two punch: setup and payoff.

Detail of moviegoers

Detail of motor vehicles with W. B. Park's signature

Wrapper

Verso

p h W. B. Park eBay listing ended February 15, 2025 https://www.ebay.com/itm/196479711123?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01JSNF235573MCRCFXAEN63A24&hash=item2dbf1a7793:g:G2cAAOSwG6lmhI0F&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dJTtWTViH0iqUnN%2Bq5c86pQLz7weYx5VaXbtlSi5L0WDc5wUoxrihJnRWVkNbbSZJfEslDPEe7EdhsB5DbYnzPVTfkdARSvmH1JLDmAbN8xp4YfqeRV%2FFHq4uwEMbOtBzc QEBQs0%2Ff0VRyKP5gRe92jFKX9NEtuw2a3Dwa2YwsNX1E40mtZqpgSdhGOvdeMCLtbftNqYXuIruS%2FpA4AYBR4xaCfCdCBR%2BXLMAS0%2B5GdQI%2BBI4EyzmXOKC6QWmKm9Vm2bY639Spg%2BpTV1wJbW3MqPl0qwUO8jtrKaNSbI35HQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR96yiK_NZQ

W. B. Park
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

Here it is in the magazine:

Health Plan:  The Movie
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, February 21, 1994, p. 114

Health Plan:  The Movie W. B. Park Original art The New Yorker, February 21, 1994, p. 114

With a cartoon by W. B. Park and an illustration by Jonathan Rosen https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1994-02-21/flipbook/114/

* * * 

And, for those who may not be interested in health plans, let me just go off on a visual tangent from book review on the facing page: 

Louis Althusser
Jonathan Rosen
The New Yorker, February 21, 1994, p. 115

04946

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #944

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #944 appeared in the issue of May 12 & 19, 2025. A psychotherapist administers a Rorschach test to a patient while a butterfly flies off the paper. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Drew Dernavich.

"Don't worry—we're on a locked ward."

These captions lacked insight:

 

"What's Bluesky?"
"They migrate."
"And that's why we used to carry nets."

May 26, 2026 Update:  The Finalists

June 7, 2025 Update:  I voted for the caption from Trenton.

June 14, 2025 Update:  The Winner

04945

Night Life: Original Lorenzo Mattotti New Yorker Cover Art

In April of 2000, The New Yorker published Lorenzo Mattotti's cover entitled Night Life. The original art was sold on May 9 in Milan: 

The head of the woman of prodigious fashion is positioned towards the outer edge of the image yet her head is turned further outward, an unusual choice which gives the scene a spontaneous feel. Two other faces in profile by the borders direct their gaze outside our field of view. Yet these individuals are not unposed; everyone except the photographer is clearly there to be seen. One woman even looks directly at the viewer, somewhat disconcertingly.

The vibrant colors stand out against the black in the background. The glow of the nightclub lights create a symmetrical shape like a stage curtain above the scene. The shapes and colors of these lights are continued in the curvilinear strap along the left side of the image only to be cut off by the form of the photographer.

The main figure wears striking colors while the other patrons are all in black relieved occasionally by gray. Her fur is nothing if not excessive, but although central to her look it doesn't outshine her and the artist doesn't seem to be critical of her for wearing it. Like everyone else, she is living her own esthetic and is picture perfect.

The art sold for an impressive 12,000 euros plus the customary 23% buyer's premium. In dollars, that's a total of about $16,500 plus whatever shipping and insurance may be required.

Lorenzo Mattotti
Urania & Finarte listing of May 9, 2025

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/203742642_mattotti-lorenzo-the-new-yorker-night-life-2000

Me, I stay home after dark.

04943