Coming Soon: Three Issues of College Humor

The math is straightforward. Each issue of College Humor magazine that included cartoonist Peter Arno's work, circa 1936-1937, contained three cartoons in a popular, I assume, feature called "Side-Show." Of the Arno originals that were either purchased by or consigned to the Nicholls Gallery in 1985, I have yet to account for nine of them in any of the various copies of the magazine I've either collected or else examined at Columbia University. This means I still need to acquire, or examine, at least three more issues to document their content and check it agains the remaining cartoons in the Nicholls consignment. See, it's simple.

I found a couple of the sought-after issues on Etsy, readily available but, to my mind, overpriced. The first of these, from October 1936, announces its Arno content boldly on the cover (as do virtually all of them so far with the artist's work).

Sam Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, October 1936
Etsy listing accessed July 27, 2024

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1659863570/college-humor-vintage-magazine-oct-1936?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga

_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=%26quot%3BCollege+Humor%26quot%3B+magazine+1936&ref=sr_gallery-23&content_source=ebba064e252980c92f9aef91927ba7ade3366724%253A1659863570&organic_search_click=1

College Humor, October 1936
Etsy price accessed July 27, 2024

The 25% discount from $67.08 to $50.31 is supposed to encourage potential buyers on Etsy. I was encouraged instead by finding a different copy on eBay with a 30% discount, from $35.99 to $25.19. I did not bother to make an offer; I just bought the thing.

Sam Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, October 1936

College Humor, October 1936
eBay listing accessed July 27, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166052997036?itmmeta=01J3VMY9FSS8V386N52442NSX9&hash=item26a987a7ac:g:~9kAAOSwotFkSEzm&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8Pmf2chRikk%2Br0EZpoXmV%2FFaBg4FUjgEk6VMZdS%2FeaavC4un8pD%2FJ9naogKKdaERfc0DUJomZg%2Fq4tRWu6M4pbFrQD5lzGlSqVC%2BzwVKVQolHyx%2Fr0W%2BdC5

KM98vYXz9m%2FoAu1Q%2F2xs8wPMsXmz%2FqgOPNLD3zG7IZxBD3MM2wUpwKfqX3OMotqCCBKs9cJ7bcwfC%2BZOP6VFa7wFPyqETP0QQPAcD0VY5Mo8Nn6tgubB3Dne2NSBxdZbsQl44xXNqjt7zbE4xxFWXIsJQQqXuoJH26Lly4iEo9lLOjoJBMpMM4%2F%2B%2BNFa3foxi9vZnUZgXmg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_yX-fSeZA

College Humor, October 1936
eBay item description

Next up, a copy of the March 1937 number, again with its Arno content proclaimed on the banner, was priced at $60.37 on Etsy; this a purported 25% discount.

Bil Baird
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, March 1937
Etsy listing accessed July 27, 2024

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1659920526/college-humor-vintage-magazine-march?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=

College+Humor+1932&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&pro=1&ret=1&content_source=7f58c0071063af1848d1888f70de676437f7f3e6%253A1659920526&organic_search_click=1

College Humor, March 1937
Etsy price accessed July 27, 2024

But a little research on my part identified a copy of the issue priced at $30 on eBay, shipping included. I know a deal when I see one.

Bil Baird
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, March 1937

There's one thing the skiing wizard and the girl bronc buster both agree on:

The conscientious seller addressed condition issues I was not really concerned about.

College Humor, March 1937
eBay listing accessed July 27, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204793063743itmmeta=01J3VGCXVJF41T2KAE63MBQRXZ&hash=item2fae9e293f:g:os4AAOSwIsRmRjsh&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8Kt

KTrg0XwG2keMzuiBDi%2Fr7GmGxlbB6%2B%2F5O3%2FMx2%2BeXu9eCGzVZJVqnYwAG%2BQzLoR71vt6EfQ7zL9U6EM2O8taFT85mj3PhE%2FbHBwC7eZVkAIQI

Rpo%2FH%2FaHC2iKKDi%2B8WPQ6hUfG0ffncXVared1B67mvZ%2F6HouGRbGc6N0Q%2Bh0BP8Cae%2BtyGBLCuH6xl1JDCLf3FN%2FMo25UBNtis5JkrXXPSVjD

L%2B2lhbZt1n0YpENe8xR%2FWI2tMvXvNkSK%2F0ITVNGlC3sk6moDbNNXsvj3MejdmB1oCJVb%2F1Qyknq3ssufvu7Dy3tNExv8sMpyuroCg%

3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-zds_CeZA

College Humor, March 1937
eBay item description

Finally, the December 1934 issue also boasted some Arno drawings. At $14.44, it was the best buy of the three.

Lay off, you mugs

Russell Patterson

Photographed by Eugene Hutchinson

Clothes designed by Gladys Parker

College Humor, December 1934

"Have you tried this enjoyable way of heightening energy?" The Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health is almost three decades in the future.

College Humor, December 1937
eBay listing accessed July 27, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232074727358?itmmeta=01J3VGCXVJ1XE1CRHK9ZK0DBQQ&hash=item3608bb4fbe:g:ilcAAOSwgmJXxV~o&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8NstgEut9crxjiXGCPFJ2Y5o1GSW%2Fer5s7RT%2BGkqzrjypMu%2B8NPsyjqbc2vkH6LEmf6oxkJNW4O9%2BVioqwNVyPs773T4zPY4vO1ERfPnaFSRROuJdfTKwibR9yvGOfW

%2FsZ6eACNt9FP9SajpNWw0u25zv3OKz%2FSs7L1P61E6AAm4LcU7Qp7d0hnoCc%2BE8iZVkQSfsro0SlxNbQIF18E1EgMMlp6jxO0qANYkFwUrEelg10RkwvYhCk7ChVpilhz9KhlPUMrSDgCOOnuKqOfJ1XgxVzwv23THHKig5bMzwYf2dx8XxDqVFH6dJhxNqitqVA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_Dds_CeZA

College Humor, December 1937
eBay item description

As you can see, a certain blogger has been quite busy. I spent more than I wished to, but I have a feeling I'm now familiar with at least most of Arno's run in College Humor. And anything remaining may be harder to find and therefore more expensive.

August 3, 2024 Update:  The December issue arrived and, despite the higher 25 cent cover price, it is dated 1934, not 1937 as in the eBay listing. It has two full-page Arno cartoons which predate his "Side-Show" feature. The cover sculptor, Russell Patterson, is now identified. I have updated all this information so the magazines are not presented in the chronological order I had originally intended.

Note:  I'd still like to hear from anyone with Peter Arno rarities, either obscure published cartoons or original art. I'll even do the math.

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"Engraved" by John Held, Jr.

"Sexual freedom was a mania and it strikes me only now that for the past fifty years every generation is convinced that it was the pioneer in breaking with Victorian morals. That breakthrough, as an historical fact, occurred in the Garden of Eden."

--"Alistair Cooke's America" (1973)

These four "engravings" by John Held, Jr. are from the estate of H. N. Swanson and were in all likelihood published in Swanson's College Humor magazine. In general, they lampoon the supposed repressed sexuality of a previous generation. Possibly they date from the late 1920's. Held published drawings in a similar woodcut print style in The New Yorker.

Whatever these are, they are not true engravings. They could, of course, be a very nice set of linoleum block prints, but they may indeed be unique creations skillfully executed in the style of Victorian woodcuts. All four were sold on eBay this past March, nicely framed, for just $53--a veritable "sock in the eye!"

John Held, Jr., "The Interrupted Love Scene
A situation as old as the pyramids. But much funnier
Eng. by John Held Jr"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "The Interrupted Love Scene
A situation as old as the pyramids. But much funnier
Eng. by John Held Jr"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "The Interrupted Love Scene
A situation as old as the pyramids. But much funnier
Eng. by John Held Jr"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "There is No Moment Like the One When Your
Hair Comes Tumbling Down
Eng by John Held Jr an old hair Tousler himself"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "There is No Moment Like the One When Your
Hair Comes Tumbling Down
Eng by John Held Jr an old hair Tousler himself"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "There is No Moment Like the One When Your
Hair Comes Tumbling Down
Eng by John Held Jr an old hair Tousler himself"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "'He Who Lays his Head on a Woman's Bosom
Must Beware of a Sock in the Eye'
Eng. by John Held Jr. who is still a boy at heart."
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "'He Who Lays his Head on a Woman's Bosom
Must Beware of a Sock in the Eye'
Eng. by John Held Jr. who is still a boy at heart."
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "'He Who Lays his Head on a Woman's Bosom
Must Beware of a Sock in the Eye'
Eng. by John Held Jr. who is still a boy at heart."
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "Victorian Honeymooners Pretending That
There is No Such Thing as a Bed
Engraved by John Held Jr. that early American humanist"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "Victorian Honeymooners Pretending That
There is No Such Thing as a Bed
Engraved by John Held Jr. that early American humanist"
 Original art for College Humor?

John Held, Jr., "Victorian Honeymooners Pretending That
There is No Such Thing as a Bed
Engraved by John Held Jr. that early American humanist"
Original art for College Humor?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Original-John-Held-Jr-Framed-Woodcut-Engravings-New-Yorker-College-Humor-Art-/151261701931?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2337e6672b&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

"Alistair Cooke's America," Episode 11 (1973)

The quotation is at 23:34 followed by

a selection from The New Yorker.

Note:  There's more to see here of the work of John Held, Jr.

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Gregory d'Alessio in College Humor, October 1937

In the 1930s, did women read the magazine College Humor in any significant numbers? Surely some women must have, of course, but was the broad, male-oriented humor generally acceptable to women? In the October 1937 issue of College Humor, cartoonist Gregory d'Alessio illustrates a curious subscription advertisement for the magazine—by the way, nine issues for a dollar.

Ivy League suitors from Yale, Harvard, Cornell, and Princeton—where else would the target demographic be?—call a single young woman named Betty in her New York City apartment for a date. Her black servant (drawn as a racial caricature) is screening the calls and won't let them speak with "Mis' Betty." As she explains to them, "Mis' Betty ain' makin' no dates tonight, and neither am I—I'se next on that College Humor!" Really now.

There's a lot to take in here. Is this supposed appeal of the magazine just wishful thinking on College Humor's part? Is it all or in part tongue-in-cheek? Was racial caricature and dialect so widespread in the 1930s that it went essentially unnoticed? College Humor regularly ran insensitive cartoons that were sexist and racist—this ad qualifies on both scores—so how serious could they have been about the appeal of the magazine to women, let alone working-class black women? Well, I suspect these are two very different questions. The magazine's editors must have known they had few if any black readers and maybe that's what's supposed to make the ad's caption funny. As for the magazine's appeal to the class of educated white young women, I suspect it was less popular than with educated white young men, but I'm not at all sure to what degree.

"Mis' Betty ain' makin' no dates tonight, and neither am I—I'se next on that College Humor!"
Gregory d'Alessio
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, October 1937
Subscription advertisement, inside back cover

Note:  I certainly don't have reliable demographics on the readership of American humor magazines during the 1930s and I don't know if anyone does, but by all means readers should let me know what they know. Even if there are no reliable data, I'd be happy to hear opinions on the appeal of the magazine's humorous content to the various components of its readership circa the 1930s.

This copy of the October 1937 issue of College Humor has its home in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection at Columbia University, one of some 5,600 humor magazines housed in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. For more information on accessing the collection,  contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green. Tell her you want to fact-check me.

So now I'm fresh out of new content by Gregory d'Alessio from College Humor magazine. That's where you come in, Gentle Reader. Attempted Bloggery is eager to publish scans or photographs of original cartoon art by Gregory d'Alessio and, for that matter, other New Yorker artists. Clippings of rare, published cartoons and illustrations from College Humor and other like publications are always eagerly received here. Remember, nothing is too obscure for this blog.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives

Gregory d'Alessio

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Undatable Index

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More Issues of College Humor from 1936 and 1937

My reason for pursuing old issues of College Humor magazine is simple. I am looking to document the cartoons that Peter Arno contributed. His work for The New Yorker is legendary, of course, but his contributions to College Humor are largely forgotten except, perhaps, to readers of this blog. The other great cartoonists in each issue are just a wonderful bonus.

On July 12, I picked up three issues with fresh Arno content—August 1936, November 1936, and January 1937—in addition to the four copies I just bought in June. I have already posted the "Side-Show" feature from these, each with three Arno cartoons.

The August 1936 number has pin-up art on the cover by R. F. Schabelitz. How else would one sell a humor magazine? Oh, right, by listing some of the prominent contributors on the cover.

R. F. Schabelitz
College Humor, August 1936

R. Schabelitz's printed signature

Would you like to come up to my dormitory and see my etchings? New Yorker cartoonist Peggy Bacon is one of the artists.

"Life's big question" and maybe not just for 1936:

Campus cartoonists try to ape the style of the pros. That's not really a surprise, is it?

The eBay seller who chose not to photograph the Arno spread did choose to include this one:

The subscription ad, right, is illustrated by Jefferson Machamer:

On pages 42 and 43, we see cartoons by Gregory d'Alessio, Lawrence Lariar, and Syd Hoff. I should be able to get better pictures even with my refusal to use a scanner.

Victor Hugo approves of Camels. No, not that Victor Hugo.

Let me offer a little insight into the nuances of my negotiating technique. The magazine was listed on eBay for $10.00. But there was marker writing on the cover, for crying out loud, so I felt it was fair to offer $7.00 instead. My offer was not accepted and there was no counteroffer from the seller. After moping for a couple of weeks, I eventually came up to $8.00 and that offer was accepted.

College Humor, August 1936
eBay listing ended July 12, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385547176220?itmmeta=01J3RW8HZG2YYTJM8T4M4ETSGZ&hash=item59c467091c:g:fKgAAOSwBahkOU9l&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4LLmNsqbYKWMAXj5Lo3ONezetrYnPswpcXRIFSEQHG6j%2BT8rv9sEN1YRIHj%2B5m78ENRjVrlnutDDF%2ByNfE5Gz8ZDAiGlCAL7Ysgx8ErtInnOjnZtTJF5Kmbzc

kJCRRmeEQo9lrAfsc8MIQVwaJCHaoGORpNmAJPb6QQlGe5Hgy%2BlB0GLfQUqIFOs32HaLpraot31r0J%2BjdM4LLh23JA25wPs1xOvy2lmBbuiz27%2BiZ2K9TH%2FlKrsrvecVFMaSslgTVp0npt7XPcxtGRy9foY3noG5DOqhtjzf9Nus1WwWbee%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-ifopyeZA

College Humor, August 1936
eBay item description

The second issue I found was November 1936. The cover is by Sam Berman. His football scenario requires a convoluted explanation on the contents page.

Sam Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, November 1936

Camel cigarettes: golfers, bowlers, and busy homemakers swear by them.

College Humor, November 1936
eBay listing accessed July 12, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/135108696360?itmmeta=01J2J454NMYZHDAGJ3DC3Y7NZY&hash=item1f751b1928:g:dgwAAOSweGtmcKbo&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8OPmRqGWMhj3ATZ9ozm6IkIXMI6HyFnSEhYa%2BPBAKPitsqJqA19sGVyzEeUxaNiLm033xBw2%2BZSC%2FAKcNPUy3WgunAA5ZSYm9dsb47FkeNJ%2Fi0ScOOEo

NBXLg37zR1Ebrz4ucvEe8SWAgnrcFWxIuPNKs8Itz75XukoGvhFEoHoxfnpgcdGfeLrUpWov%2FOTuNEAQ5QlH%2BLn72%2BJ%2FahlHjHl8Pt2uBCpa6FoRVEe9%2Brs5zGKFXwZ%2FXK4nSfOxX5cJgEww7FMoGbS8LOciqTaB8hzeJJuKHPE7rGce9t2XBtWDdD57tHP%2BcjS8LUxXDVjDxw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBM-MqUxJRk

The January 1937 cover is by Samuel Berman. You can read the expression on her face—or you can read the writing in the ice.

Samuel Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor,  January 1937

Do you have Prince Albert in a can?

College Humor, January 1937
eBay listing ended July 12, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315446601252?itmprp=cksum%3A3154466012524e5f0289a17f4ffe829ccad0f8caf898%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABUCk%252BEYkE9MwKlxrUayjKrhLhBNc6OvLPrg34zQdvwtva%252FYyT1Rws7v7DAH8aow6919Myv274JEQnLymIrPbYDth8dZ8o3PrLSVjeDVAdVjlkmv5RL6Pkr8CgCyYO5d3CAeqaAAEZso0vtBCDrhs%252BDUm6Vmwt23hO8P5x5TRWWRdP4PWbl04GC4JQXs3LGxYueJO2g%252BIzwXpwWVku8HUyZPnSDl

qujMxwnU8yGaaZttZMGH5ebgpKKOtwfgUDckpKAbQyQlBlbGsk8AucN1cKxan4Zkv9nUrYQTwHek%252FH%252FmhhAyqVHxFIGqwBtMLRiuTxICjlc%252FyWbsZZdIU2Ko%252F0XOle0IPl84U4myDpanNt7WzpnW3S%252BIFF3zOtIH6qNiagWgxZExCbCneWiiuZMCl9rq8dVEw2fZXfKXF2TC%252BUqaBCamG2HVrGhRAswP6IxjxWng%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A4429486&itmmeta=01J2M3598BKK5YRY6JXJMH6MYZ

College Humor, January 1937
eBay item description

There is actually a fourth issue from the same seller as the November 1936 and January 1937 issues. The magazine from September 1937 was one that I had already photographed at Columbia University in the Steven Boss Collection, so this was not a part of any Arno quest. For a mere $2.70, I figured, why not add it to my own library?

The cover is by puppeteer Bil Baird. Young romance is a sort of merry-go-round, isn't it?

Bil Baird
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, September 1937

"Camels never get on your nerves!" Just ask the aquaplane expert.

College Humor, September 1937
eBay listing ended July 12, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315550091119?itmmeta=01J3RW8HZGP31A7YGQVP8CZRBQ&hash=item497840476f:g:MP4AAOSwtMpmkZDG&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwOx0cSf%2BJ%2BY7R7ZRjP9IV2q8JdV3IEVUDpuqkgeUcalYEmdU3oTYaYpZuRcpIJZroCH4U6VLGQ6Iqzx1pPKltKbdnb3ff7faj

w1xPKv722Z98qHR2uspzKQOdhXd8rJryTwCgISLka7dQ6pe4iDUgf%2FBKOqVSLW7mn6LBwNwEGJXEHVKsW%2BGxrTIwgrMhaSJrHT%2FBCuQWT8trCq5yQZeS%2BPMJCkla%2Bx3jlIz%2BxjVWPSuTbeZrFJ%2FVG46QZDyfq2npg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-ifopyeZA

College Humor, September 1937
eBay item description

Note:  Imagine what you would see if some kind-hearted friend were to give you a link to all the Attempted Bloggery posts currently showing Peter Arno cartoons from College Humor. That's right, every last one.

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