WONDERFULLY INSCRIBED WITH ORIGINAL CARTOONS BY SEVEN ICONIC NEW YORKER CARTOONISTS

(BOOTH, George) (GROSS, Sam) (MYERS, Lou) (WILSON, Gahan) (WITTE, Mike) (WOODMAN, Bill) (ZIEGLER, Jack) FISHER, Edwin, GERBERG, Mort and WOLIN, Ron, eds. The Art in Cartooning. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, (1975). Quarto, original black cloth, original dust jacket. $3200.

First edition of this celebration of American cartooning, seldom found inscribed with original sketches by its contributors. This copy boasts large, whimsical and personalized original art by notable magazine cartoonists George Booth, Sam Gross, Lou Myers, Gahan Wilson, Mike Witte, Bill Woodman, and Jack Ziegler. A delightful copy.

Celebrating the work of American cartoonists from the late 19th century through 1975, The Art in Cartooning collects over 300 examples of the form at its finest, drawn from the pages of The New Yorker and other magazines. Artists represented include Charles Addams, Peter Arno, Gahan Wilson, James Thurber, Rube Goldberg and many more.

All of the seven cartoonists who have inscribed this copy with charming original work are represented in its pages, and most are best known for their contributions to The New Yorker. On the front pastedown, Gahan Wilson sketched a quirky half-figure, beneath which Bill Woodman redrew that half-figure and put it into action as "a portable umbrella holder." At the top of the recto of the front free endpaper, Jack Ziegler depicted one of the recipients painting a portrait of the other (addressed to Helga and Paul, "neighbors"), and below that Mike Witte provided a large, wrinkly elephant with an appealing expression, saying "I was gonna say something clever but for some inexplicable reason I forgot…" The front free endpaper verso features a Lou Myers sketch inspired by his famous La Cage aux Folles poster: Helga and Paul posed standing together inside an oversized shirt, with Paul saying "Help!" and Helga blushing with the same red ink used to highlight Paul's turtleneck. On the half title, George Booth (whose work went rejected by The New Yorker for 20 years) portrayed himself as the victim of an editor wielding an oversized "reject hammer" while shouting "Not funny, Booth!" Sam Gross made the final contribution, decorating the contents page with an inscription to Helga and Paul above a figure pointing at the World War II and Post War section, saying "KILL!" Includes eight color plates.

Dust jacket with minor discoloring to spine and back cover. Front pastedown and free endpaper with small drop of water damage, touching Witte's drawing without affecting its impact. An about-fine copy, very desirable with original cartoons by featured artists.