Attempted Bloggery

Sunday, July 7, 2013

McElligot's Pool

Here we have a prized first edition copy of McElligot's Pool (1947) by Dr. Seuss which includes an original drawing of a fish by the good doctor. The drawing of "an Onak fish" is dedicated to the Onak family. It appears that traces of pencil remain underneath the ink drawing.

Dr. Seuss, Signed and inscribed "An Onak fish for the Onaks from Dr. Seuss" with a drawing of a fish in a first edition copy of McElligot's Pool (1947)

www.ebay.com/itm/Dr-Seuss-McElligots-Pool-1st-Edition-Signed-Drawing-/181077291363?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item2a290c3163

March 17, 2014 Update:

June 19, 2014 Update: Another copy of this book with an original drawing of a fish was sold this month at Bonhams:

Dr. Seuss, Signed and inscribed "Extra fish for Woody [Woodward Dike] from Dr. Seuss" with a drawing of a fish in a copy of McElligot's Pool (1947)

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21652/lot/72/

Note: You can see more Dr. Seuss here. If you have access to any little Seuss gems like this one and would like to share them on this blog, I'd love to see them.

0802

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Book Review: Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse


Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse

It has occasionally been noted that P. G. Wodehouse's novels, including even his much later ones, all seem to be set in the bucolic 1920's. I would add to that the observation that Piccadilly Jim, a book first serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1916 during the first World War and subsequently published in the U.S. in 1917 and in the U.K. in 1918, already seems to anticipate the impossibly carefree attitude of the 1920's rather than the harsh realities of its own time.

The several transatlantic crossings in the story are presented with no topical mention of either the Titanic which famously struck an iceberg in 1912 or of the Lusitania which was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915. In fact, the most serious problem alluded to regarding crossing the Atlantic is, as you might guess, sea-sickness.

In the middle of World War I, Wodehouse has already invented his own benign world mostly untroubled by war and other serious calamities. The sole reference to war here, in fact, is a newly-invented but farcically-untested explosive which various unnamed and unscrupulous governments may be interested in illicitly acquiring even without knowing if it actually works.

The 1920's were doubtless a boon to Wodehouse's delightful writing, but I think he may have been well on his way to inventing them before they just happened to come along.

Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse, Dodd, Mead & Company (1917), First Printing (USA)

http://www.facsimiledustjackets.com/cgi-bin/fdj455/5245.html?id=DtAsoqGs

Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse
Herbert Jenkins Limited (1918)
First Printing, 2/6 Net (UK)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PiccadillyJim.jpg

Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse, Herbert Jenkins Limited (1918), 1931 Reprint 5/- Net (UK)

http://www.facsimiledustjackets.com/cgi-bin/fdj455/6401.html?id=DtAsoqGs

Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse, Herbert Jenkins Limited (1918), 6/- Net Reprint (UK)

http://www.facsimiledustjackets.com/cgi-bin/fdj455/5246.html?id=DtAsoqGs

0801

Friday, July 5, 2013

Blog Post No. 800: Think Locally, Blog Globally

Welcome to my 800th blog post! I couldn't have asked for a nicer visitor.

Google provides many nifty statistical tools to its bloggers, and I admit to being fascinated by some of them. While I don't care at all which browser people are using to read this blog, I have been fascinated all year by how my humble blog attracts readers around the world. In February I noted that the blog was starting to accumulate page views in China, which was a totally new and unanticipated phenomenon. I commented on this several times, and I avidly follow China's progress here every day.

China is currently sixth among all nations in monthly readership, but it has not yet made it into the top ten list for all-time page views. If current trends continue, that should happen some time late this year and Brazil, I'm afraid, will be leaving this list.

Attempted Bloggery All-Time Pageviews by Countries, July 4, 2013

Please allow me to make a few additional observations. This list is top-heavy, with readership in the U.S. being approximately 100 times readership in Brazil. As a result, towards the bottom of the list, the results can easily be skewed by one or two dedicated readers in each country. The statistics can also be skewed by referer spam.

Of the ten countries on this list, six are Epcot nations. Five Epcot nations are not on the list: Norway, Japan, China, Morocco, and Mexico. The strong showing of Russia makes it unlikely that this list can ever be an all-Epcot list. Why I think this is important is not clear even to me.

Nations of Africa and the Middle East are not well-represented among the blog's readers. A similar fate may await South America if Brazil is pushed off the list by China. The entire Southern hemisphere would then be underrepresented, although Australia is English-speaking and may well remain strong. Overall readership in non-English-speaking countries is probably facilitated by Google Translator and other similar translation programs.

0800

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Al Hirschfeld's "1776"

Theatre caricaturist Al Hirschfeld produced this illustration of the original cast of "1776" for The New York Times issue of March 1, 1969. John Adams (William Daniels) is shown quill pen in hand surrounded by Ben Franklin (Howard Da Silva), Edward Rutledge (Clifford Davis), Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard), John Dickinson (Paul Hecht), and Richard Henry Lee (Ron Holgate), the founding fathers. This was my first Broadway show. It was awarded the Tony Award in 1969 for Best Musical. The movie version was released in 1972 with much the same cast. There was a fine Broadway revival in 1997.

Al Hirschfeld, "1776," The New York Times, March 16, 1969

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2300+++++189+&refno=++670107&saletype=

http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/3101/1776

http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/Whos_who/3101/23564/1776

For the 1997 revival of the play, Hirschfeld produced this lithograph.

Al Hirschfeld, "1776," Lithograph, AP IV/XV, 1997 (Revival)

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2015+++++150+&refno=++541530&saletype=

"The Egg" from "1776" (1972)

Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards

Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson

Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin

William Daniels as John Adams

"The Signing" from "1776" (1972)

Note: There's more about Al Hirschfeld here.

0799

Peter Max: Statue of Liberty Serigraph

This serigraph entitled Statue of Liberty by Peter Max caught my eye because it's from the same U.K. eBay seller with the original Ilonka Karasz New Yorker cover art I wrote about just recently here. The serigraph is dated 1994, yet it bears a 2005 Peter Max copyright stamp, which concerns me just a tad. The seller has a slightly less-than-ironclad disclaimer as well regarding authenticity. Nevertheless, for my purposes, which is to celebrate America's independence in a colorful way, this will do just fine.

Peter Max, Statue of Liberty Serigraph, 18/300, 1994

Peter Max Signature

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Peter-Max-Statue-of-Liberty-Serigraph-Limited-Edition-Hand-Signed-/140987206281?pt=UK_art_prints_GL&hash=item20d37e0a89

Note: See more interpretations of the Statue of Liberty here.

0798

Flagg's Uncle Sam ALS

An outstanding letter from James Montgomery Flagg, surely the greatest Uncle Sam illustrator of all time, was sold at Heritage Auctions in 2007. Can you imagine being the recipient of such a thing?

James Montgomery Flagg, Autograph Drawing/Letter, Signed with Uncle Sam

James Montgomery Flagg, Autograph Drawing/Letter, Signed with Uncle Sam, Framed

http://www.icollector.com/James-Montgomery-Flagg-Autograph-DrawingLetter_i7342132

James Montgomery Flagg, Autograph Drawing/Letter, Signed with Uncle Sam

http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=675&lotNo=30338#Photo

James Montgomery Flagg, Autograph Drawing/Letter, Signed with Uncle Sam

James Montgomery Flagg, Autograph Drawing/Letter, Signed with Uncle Sam, Framed

Note: See more interpretations of Uncle Sam here.

0797

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Rick Griffin: Mickey Mouse Wants You

Rick Griffin takes James Montgomery Flagg's iconic World War I "I Want You" poster and has some fun with it for Walt Disney. Later Alton Kelley frames the preliminary drawing.

Rick Griffin, Mickey Mouse Wants You
Frame by Alton Kelley

Rick Griffin, Mickey Mouse Wants You

Frame by Alton Kelley

Bonhams Los Angeles, June 14, 2009

Unsold

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17108/lot/6262/?search_query=1&division=None&passages=True&earliest_first=True&country=None&past_sales=past&back_to_year=2003&sale_no=None&top_level_department=None&department=None&query=Mickey+mouse+I+want+you&create_facets=True&value_data_currency=GBP

Rick Griffin, Mickey Mouse Wants You

Note: The original Flagg poster is in yesterday's post here.

0796

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

James Montgomery Flagg's "I Want You" Poster

James Montgomery Flagg's most popular and enduring work by far is the "I Want You for U.S. Army" recruiting poster from 1917. The artist himself served as the model for Uncle Sam.

James Montgomery Flagg, "I Want You for U.S. Army" Poster, 1917
Heritage Auctions, December 11, 2012

http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=6092&lotNo=38342#Photo

James Montgomery Flagg, "I Want You for U.S. Army" Poster, 1917
Heritage Auctions, December 11, 2012

http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=6092&lotNo=38342#Photo

James Montgomery Flagg, "I Want You for U.S. Army" Poster, 1917
Heritage Auctions, December 11, 2012

http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=6092&lotNo=38342#Photo

Note: Does anyone know what became of the original artwork for this iconic poster? Just asking.

Catch more Flagg illustrations here or by clicking on the label below.

0795

Monday, July 1, 2013

Minnie Liberty

Back in 2005, five and a half years before I started this blog, I snapped a few pictures in the Disney Store and enthusiastically posted them on flickr. As it turns out, I did not keep posting on this site for long, but I did show an early (for me) interest in using the Internet to share with the world some of what I happened upon. Now, as Independence Day approaches, I am delighted to be able to recycle these pictures on a site I can call my own. Well, mine and Google's.