From the Dick Buchanan Files: The Old Joke Cemetery Part 1

A year ago, I ran this entry about old jokes. I'm rerunning it here because tomorrow there will be an all-new sequel. I know you didn't ask for even more of these old dreadful old gag cartoons, but that's what we deal with here, so ... tough! Now go groan and laugh at these moldy oldies that have been hand curated by the one and only Dick Buchanan. Thanks, and take it away, Dick!

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THE OLD JOKE CEMETERY
Laugh In Peace


In 1922, Fred Allen commissioned comic-strip artist Martin Branner (Winnie Winkle) to cover a theater curtain with an elaborate mural painting depicting a cemetery with a punchline on each gravestone and crypt. This was the "Old Joke Cemetery," where overworked gags go to die.

Sadly, Fred Allen’s curtain no longer exists. But, thanks to the Old Joke Recovery Act of 1953, the Old Joke Cemetery has been revived by the Cartoon Clip File. Today it consists of an assemblage of vintage gag cartoons clipped from old magazines and haphazardly pasted on the walls of Cartoon Clip File headquarters.

These are the gag cartoon versions old jokes now interred in the Old Joke Cemetery. No one recalls when or where these gags first appeared but they did and they’ve been with us ever since.

Here’s a chance to say goodbye to some favorite old jokes now interred in the Old Joke Cemetery . . . and keep in mind, some of these old jokes are merely resting and will likely re-appear now and again.


1. AL JOHNS. The Saturday Evening Post December 22 – 29, 1962.

 2. SYD HOFF. True Magazine June, 1952.

3. WALTER GOLDSTEIN. The Saturday Evening Post October 16, 1951.

4. PHIL INTERALNDI. Look Magazine December 31, 1962.

5. KAZ. Larry Katzman’s Nurse Nellie cartoons appeared in magazines, book collections and greeting cards. The Saturday Evening Post May 27, 1961.

6. MARTHA BLANCHARD. Look Magazine May 9, 1961.

7. GLEN BERNHARDT. Bernhardt was a West Coast cartoonist who founded the Northern California Cartoon & Humor Association in 1954. Collier’s May 20, 1950.

8. GARDNER REA. Look Magazine April 9, 1963.

9. NED HILTON. Collier’s March 11, 1950.

10. WILLIAM von RIEGEN. Collier’s November 4, 1950.

11. GLEN BERNHARDT. American Magazine June, 1953.

12. BORIS DRUCKER. The Saturday Evening Post June 11, 1949.

13. MICHAEL BERRY. Collier’s December 21, 1946.

14. BRAM. Martin Brammier, Jr. The Saturday Evening Post June 11, 1960.

15. JERRY MARCUS. Here! December, 1951.

16. SYD HOFF. Collier’s March 19, 1949.

17. HERB GREEN. The Saturday Evening Post July 20, 1957.

18. CHON DAY. Collier’s July 18, 1953.

19. PETER WYMA. The Saturday Evening Post April 18, 1959.

20. KATE OSANN. Collier’s April 15, 1950.

21. TUP. Bob Tupper was a popular “men’s interest” magazine cartoonist. a-Laugh-a-Minit January, 1956.

22. GARDNER REA. Collier’s June 26, 1948.

23. JEFF MONAHAN. 1000 Jokes Magazine March-May, 1958.

24. BILL KING. American Legion Magazine May, 1949.

25. JOHN NORMENT. The Saturday Evening Post June 15, 1957.      

Anton Emdin: Inking Tutorial: Brush & Ink

Australia's MADdest cartoonist, Anton Emdin, has an inking tutorial over at his blog. As you can see, Anton is a master who reveres "the old Mad Magazine guys" like Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder and Jack Davis. 

I've known Anton for at least a decade, and he's just as nice a guy as he is talented. It's wonderful that he shares his techniques with us (I told you he was a nice guy.) and it's worth watching, whether you're a digital or old school cartoonist. 

Much more at Anton's blog!

Switzerland - Gondola - Zermatt to Klein Matterhorn

These are the kinds of videos I'm watching: travel videos. If I can't travel now due to covid, then I can live vicariously and watch train rides, hikes, walks through cities, etc. on YouTube. Here's a gondola ride.

Happy Birthday, Peter Arno

 It would be his 117th birthday today.

Michael Maslin, who wrote the great bio of Arno (Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist), weighs in and quotes many New Yorker cartoonists on the man.

Here's one of my favorite stories about Peter Arno (1904 - 1968):


Some cartoonists like the beginning bit (the coming up with the idea, honing the gag bit I mean) and some like the process (the sketching and layout) and others prefer the end (the sale). My favorite part is coming up with the gag and drawing the doodle in my sketchbook. Not so with Mr. Peter Arno.

Arno would draw and redraw his cartoons sometimes dozens of times. There is a true story that cartoonist Mel Casson would tell, about visiting Mr. Arno in his penthouse apartment. I'll do my best to relate it here, from memory of him telling it some 20 years ago as part of a National Cartoonists Society Connecticut Chapter speech he gave.

So, a few decades back, Mel Casson and a friend went to visit the one and only famous New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno. He had invited them to his apartment. And it really was a penthouse apartment. The lobby elevator went up, and the doors opened onto the interior Arno landing, from which one could see the Arno living room and -- there he was -- Peter Arno himself, mixing drinks.

It was a pleasant visit and Arno was a wonderful host. After sitting down, having a drink and talking shop, Arno asked the younger cartoonists, "Do you want to see my studio?"

Well, of course! Who wouldn't want to see Arno's studio?!

So, Arno walked over to a door, and opened it. They walked in. Arno switched on a light. The room had curtains all around, from floor to ceiling, covering the wall, the windows. "I can't have any distractions," explained Arno. The only furniture: a large drawing board, lamp and chair. And on the drawing board, laid out in two rows, were twenty original drawings.

These were 20 originals of the same cartoon, drawn over and over. But, coming closer, the cartoons were not exactly the same. Each one was had a slight difference: an arm bent a different way, a head turned, one character was upstage of the other, to the right in another, etc. Each one was a fully inked Arno piece of original comic art, ready for publication.

I remember Casson telling Arno how surprised he was that he (Arno) did all of this work, painstakingly laboring over the cartoon, drawing and redrawing it in so many different, subtle ways -- all in finished ink and wash. Casson suggested drawing a series of thumbnails or pencil sketches instead of going to all this time and effort to create twenty finishes.

Arno explained that this was always the way he worked: drawing many different variations of the cartoon until he was satisfied. Casson repeated that it was so much work, drawing a large size finished piece over and over and over again.

"But you don't understand," explained Arno, motioning to the 20 cartoons, "This is my favorite part."



Related:

Harry Lee Green brings a lovely sampler of Peter Arno's amazing layout and masterful wash style from the collections SIZZLING PLATTER and HELL OF A WAY TO RUN A RAILROAD.

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Barney Tobey Gag Cartoons 1938 - 1966

Longtime New Yorker cartoonist Barney Tobey is the focus of today's entry by Dick Buchanan. Dick tells us about Mr. Tobey and shares a great collection of his non-New Yorker (and seldom ever seen) cartoons. Thanks and take it away, Dick!

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BARNEY TOBEY
Gag Cartoons 1938 - 1966



Self-portrait by Sgt. Barney Tobey from his Army days. Best Cartoons of the Year 1945, Crown Publishing Co.


Cartoonist Barney Tobey lived his entire life in New York City and his drawings reflected his love and understanding of New York City life. Naturally, he became one of the New Yorker’s leading cartoonists.
After high school Tobey won a scholarship to the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts. He left after a year to work in the art department of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, a top advertising agency. While toiling in the advertising world by day he studied at night at the Art Students League and he began submitting cartoons to magazines. His first New Yorker cartoon was published in 1929. After six years in advertising he left his secure job to explore the carefree life of a freelance artist and cartoonist. Over the next 60 years Mr. Tobey contributed more than 1200 drawings and 4 covers to The New Yorker. 

While Mr. Tobey is best remembered for his New Yorker work, he contributed many hundreds of cartoons and covers to Collier’s, This Week, The Saturday Evening Post and other major magazines as well. He also illustrated Broadway show posters, children’s books, and book covers.

Mr. Tobey's work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the Grolier Society and Princeton University. A collection of his drawings, B. Tobey of the New Yorker, was published in 1983 by Dodd Mead & Co.

Here is a sampling of Mr. Tobey’s cartoons which did not appear in The New Yorker but are, nonetheless, really good stuff. Take a look . . .


1. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s September 10, 1938.

 

2. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s September 2, 1939.

3. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s May 24, 1941.

4. BARNEY TOBEY. 1000 Jokes Magazine Autumn, 1943.

5. BARNEY TOBEY. Liberty Magazine July 21, 1945.

 

6. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s October 20, 1945.

7. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s March 23, 1946.

8. BARNEY TOBEY. The Saturday Evening Post December 13, 1947.

9. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s December 13, 1947.

 

10. BARNEY TOBEY. The Saturday Evening Post. April 23, 1949.

 

11. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s September 9, 1950.

 

12. BARNEY TOBEY. The Saturday Evening Post. January 6, 1951.

 

13. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s August 9, 1952.

 

14. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s January 17, 1953.

 

15. BARNEY TOBEY. The Saturday Evening Post January 26, 1957.

 

16. BARNEY TOBEY. Look Magazine April 16, 1957.

 

17. BARNEY TOBEY. Look Magazine June 9, 1959.

 

18. BARNEY TOBEY. The Saturday Evening Post January 31, 1959.

 

19. BARNEY TOBEY. The Saturday Evening Post September 29, 1962.

 

20. BARNEY TOBEY. Look Magazine February 11, 1964.

 

20. BARNEY TOBEY. True Magazine April, 1966.

 

 Related:

 

Mr. Tobey (1906-1989) shares his sketchbook with us

American Can Company: "Miracle of the Can" Booklet Drawings by Barney Tobey

 

CRBPaperPlanes: "My Paper Plane Performs a Perfect Vertical Landing On a Moving Tram in Snow"

 From CRBPaperPlanes, here's an amazing short video of a paper plane's flight from a high rise window to the top of a tram. This has over 12 million views on YouTube but it's new to me.

 

THE GINGERBREAD SHOP A STORY FROM "MARY POPPINS" Illustrations by Gertrude Elliott

 

The cover of THE GINGERBREAD SHOP A STORY FROM "MARY POPPINS," copyright 1952 by Simon and Schuster, Inc., and Artists and Writers Guild, Inc.

This 1952 Golden Book, based on a chapter of the MARY POPPINS book by P.L. Travers, caught my eye at the Arundel, ME flea market a couple of weeks ago. I actually looked thru the book, then put it down and walked away. I went to the opposite end of the market, and had second thoughts and came back to buy it.

The pictures by Gertrude Elliott were like something I had never seen in a mainstream kiddie book. They were well drawn, with a great sense of perspective and proportion and layout. But they weren't cute. No cute bunnies or rosy cheeked cherubs. And, looking at it, most of the time, I wanted to peek around the page because the characters of Mary, Michael and Jane were looking away from me, in three-quarters view.

I mean, look at the cover. Mary Poppins is almost completely turned away from us. She's striding so fast into the title shop that she's about to run into Jane Banks. And Michael is looking up, questioningly. Well, if the little dude has a question for her, he better pick up the pace. Another moment and Mary Poppins won't be on the cover of the book she's walking so fast.

So, here she is, looking up and away. We see more of her jawline than the front of her face. We never see her straight on, looking at the audience, in any of the drawings. And Gertrude Elliott decided to do this to help make Mary Poppins more mysterious. This is what registered and this is why I walked back from the other side of the flea market.

There is little about the life of Gertrude Elliott on the web. She was a prolific illustrator of kids' books, with many of editions commanding high prices today.

The most about her I was able to find was this small bio in THE GINGERBREAD SHOP:

Gertrude Elliott illustrated one of the most popular of modern children's books, The Golden Dictionary, as well as The Golden Song Book, The Golden Book of Poetry, and eight Little Golden books. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and daughter. 

-- This was an edited version of an August 12, 2016 blog entry.

Walt Disney's "The Story Of Menstruation" (1946)

Produced by Walt Disney for Kimberly Clark (the maker of Tampax pads), "The Story of Menstruation" is a 10 minute short designed to be shown in school health classes. No mention of the reproduction process or sexuality here. It received the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and was viewed by an estimated 105 million school children.

This was one of a series of shorts that Disney made for American schools for six years, beginning in 1945. In 2015, it was chosen for National Film Registry preservation by the Library of Congress.