Anthony Summers, in his 1993 biography Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover, alleged that back in the 1950s the FBI Director had been seen cross-dressing at all-male parties. The book was published on March 2, 1993 and the salacious parts received extraordinary publicity. The idea of Hoover as a cross-dresser has since become a part of popular culture, although historians have found no evidence to support it and much reason for doubt.
At the time of the book's publication, cartoonist Leo Cullum was on the case in the pages of The New Yorker. The story was so widely noted that although more than two decades had passed since Hoover's death there was no need to have his name appear in the cartoon.
Later in the year the subject of cross-dressing was to come up again in a William Hamilton cartoon. While this one isn't a direct commentary on the J. Edgar Hoover story, it might never have seen the light of day without it. Cross-dressing references are rare in New Yorker cartoons, but the national conversation had taken an unusual turn that year.
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| https://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1993-03-08#folio=034 |
A week later, cartoonist Warren Miller checked up on FBI headquarters in Washington, DC:
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| https://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1993-03-15#folio=034 |
Hamilton's original artwork shows one of his many cocktail party groupings. An older woman is asking her husband to recall where exactly they were when they caught a gossipy glimpse of a certain person in drag. The language is breezy and conversational, carefully crafted to recount not merely the scandal but the couple's exquisite travel history.
Note: I'm always interested in original art by William Hamilton (1939-2016). Readers are encouraged to send me scans or photographs of his art and to relate the stories behind them.
To my knowledge, the artwork in this post was not sold. Let me know if you know otherwise.
Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:
William Hamilton
Leo Cullum
Warren Miller
J. Edgar Hoover
Original New Yorker Cartoon Art
Travel
Gender
Attempted Bloggery's Drag of an Index
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| "Darling, spotting Todd Mason dressed as a woman—was that at the Palio in Siena or the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca?" William Hamilton Original art The New Yorker, November 15, 1993, page 102 The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons, 2018 |
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| The printed caption adhered to the matte misspells Siena. |
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| The art was a Christmas gift from William Hamilton one year after publication. "FOR PAUL, Merry Xmas '94 WmH ·" |
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| The glass was cracked in "staging the shot" for eBay. The seller was going to have it replaced. The seller inadvertently photographed some addresses, a no-no in "staged" shots. Is the crumpled money meant to be subliminally suggestive or is it perhaps for scale? |
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| William Hamilton eBay Listing Ended December 1, 2016 |
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| William Hamilton eBay Item Description |
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| "Darling, spotting Todd Mason dressed as a woman—was that at the Palio in Siena or the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca?" William Hamilton Original art The New Yorker, November 15, 1993, page 102 The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons, 2018 |
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| https://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1993-11-15#folio=102 |
Note: I'm always interested in original art by William Hamilton (1939-2016). Readers are encouraged to send me scans or photographs of his art and to relate the stories behind them.
To my knowledge, the artwork in this post was not sold. Let me know if you know otherwise.
Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:
William Hamilton
Leo Cullum
Warren Miller
J. Edgar Hoover
Original New Yorker Cartoon Art
Travel
Gender
Attempted Bloggery's Drag of an Index
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