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Lot 268: 1938-39 Black Cartoonist's First Black Themes - within the pages of Esquire magazine

Est: $100 USD - $150 USDPassed
PBA Galleries Auctions & AppraisersSan Francisco, CA, USOctober 24, 2013

Item Overview

Description

Includes: 4 pages of Campbell cartoons removed from the August and December 1938 and September 1939 issues of Esquire; and the full Esquire issue of April 1938, for which Campbell both wrote and illustrated a 4-page article about his trip to Haiti, with an additional 3 pages of color illustrations, a Portfolio of Haitian Sketches.

Campbell’s front-cover illustrations for Judge and other humor magazines in the early 1930s, offered above, were probably the earliest work by an African-American artist featured in a popular national periodical. But no Black figures appeared in Campbell’s early work at a time when most national magazine illustrations still depicted Blacks in racial stereotypes. Meanwhile, Campbell’s career took off when, in 1933, he began a 25 year association with the new Esquire magazine, for which he created its pop-eyed cover mascot. While Campbell, throughout the Depression era, had close ties to Harlem Renaissance culture – illustrating a novel about Haiti by Anna Bontemps and Langston Hughes, a book of poetry by Sterling Brown, brochures for the Cotton Club, and a spectacular “Nightclub Map of Harlem” - not until 1938 did he begin to incorporate Black figures and themes into his own general magazine work. Of the four Esquire pages in this group, two are merely humorous and whimsical, but the third depicts Harlem street scenes to accompany the Sterling Brown poem “Glory, Glory”, and the fourth is a striking portrait of a Black music club. The illustrated Haiti article may be his first (and only) stab at illustrating his own words.

Campbell’s front-cover illustrations for Judge and other humor magazines in the early 1930s, offered above, were probably the earliest work by an African-American artist featured in a popular national periodical. But no Black figures appeared in Campbell’s early work at a time when most national magazine illustrations still depicted Blacks in racial stereotypes. Meanwhile, Campbell’s career took off when, in 1933, he began a 25 year association with the new Esquire magazine, for which he created its pop-eyed cover mascot. While Campbell, throughout the Depression era, had close ties to Harlem Renaissance culture – illustrating a novel about Haiti by Anna Bontemps and Langston Hughes, a book of poetry by Sterling Brown, brochures for the Cotton Club, and a spectacular “Nightclub Map of Harlem” - not until 1938 did he begin to incorporate Black figures and themes into his own general magazine work. Of the four Esquire pages in this group, two are merely humorous and whimsical, but the third depicts Harlem street scenes to accompany the Sterling Brown poem “Glory, Glory”, and the fourth is a striking portrait of a Black music club. The illustrated Haiti article may be his first (and only) stab at illustrating his own words.

Artist or Maker

Date

1938-39

Condition Report

Light edge wear; very good.

Exhibited

(1938-39 Black Cartoonist's First Black Themes)

Literature

Published: Esquire

Notes

E Simms Campbell illus from Esquire mag 1938

Payment & Shipping

Payment

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Shipping estimates can be obtained directly from the lot details page for each item or by contacting William Taylor at bill@pbagalleries.com prior to the auction.

Auction Details

Fine Americana - African American History - Travel & Maps

by
PBA Galleries Auctions & Appraisers
October 24, 2013, 11:00 AM PST

133 Kearny Street 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94108, US

Terms

Buyer's Premium

23.0%

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From:To:Increment:
$0$199$10
$200$499$25
$500$999$50
$1,000$1,999$100
$2,000$4,999$250
$5,000$9,999$500
$10,000$19,999$1,000
$20,000$49,999$2,500
$50,000$99,999$5,000
$100,000+$10,000

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We have a full service shipping department to ensure proper packing and safe delivery of purchases at reasonable cost. We are specialists at packing and shipping books and works on paper. All lots purchased by the same client are combined for shipping in order to keep the cost as economical as possible. Our preferred method for domestic shipments is UPS Ground but we can also ship via FedEx or USPS. For international orders we select the most appropriate carrier depending on the value and weight of the items purchased. We are happy to accommodate special arrangements by request.

Invoices are sent out the day following the auction and include a $10 handling fee plus actual shipping and insurance charges.

Shipping estimates can be obtained directly from the lot details page for each item or by contacting William Taylor at bill@pbagalleries.com prior to the auction.