| Description | In regards to American art, illustration and humour books and items Les Coleman primarily collected the work of three particular artists; Charles Addams, Edward Gorey and Saul Steinberg. All the three artists are of a similar era and have particular traits in common. Both Addams and Gorey were particularly popular cartoonists and illustrators who shared a macabre and dark sense of humour creating work for both adult and child audiences. Although Steinberg was a more modernist or experimental artist who dabbled in both the cartoon and fine art world, he and Addams were both prolific contributors to the 'New Yorker'. Despite their differing styles and tones, Steinberg and Gorey both shared a love of cats and the animals feature heavily in their respective work.
Addams (January 7, 1912 - September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his black comedy and macabre characters. Hugely successful and renowned in his time, Addams drew more than 1,300 cartoons over the course of his life. Those that did not appear in the 'New Yorker' were often in 'Collier's' and 'TV Guide'. Today Addams is best known for creating the 'The Addams Family' which was adapted for television and film. In the collection there is a significant bibliography of anthologies of Addams cartoon anthologies, including many editions from the 1960s and 70s. Moreover Addams cartoons appeared on various forms of merchandise, with the collection containing postcards, calendars and a cookbook. Coleman also purchased a scrapbook in which someone has collected various 'New Yorker' cartoons and covers completed by Addams.
Gorey (February 22, 1925 - April 15, 2000) was an American illustrator and writer noted for his illustrated books which often depicted dark and unsettling narrative scenes set in Victorian and Edwardian settings. After publishing his first work 1953's Unstrung Harp, Gorey became recognised for his distinct pen-and-ink drawing aesthetic and dark humour. His popularity grew with the release of several independent works for both adults and children, including 'The Doubtful Guest' (1957) and 'The Gashlycrumb Tinies' (1963). Gorey's book illustration credits from this period range from TS Eliot's 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' to Franz Kafka's 'Amerika'. Additionally Gorey frequently collaborated with renowned authors, including Muriel Spark and Edward Lear. Coleman accumulated a significant library of Gorey's output.
Steinberg (June 15, 1914 - May 12, 1999) was a Romanian-American illustrator and artist who produced work that ranged from magazine illustrations and cartoons to fine art and sculpture. Notably difficult to categorise Steinberg is renowned for the covers and drawings that appeared in the 'New Yorker' for nearly six decades and for the art in a variety of mediums that is exhibited internationally in galleries and museums. Coleman was an avid admirer of Steinberg's work and in the collection there is a comprehensive body of the artist's work, from 'New Yorker' cartoon anthologies to collected art and sketchbooks. Additionally Coleman accumulated a multitude of Steinberg related memorabilia and ephemera, such as postcards, exhibition literature, magazine articles and newspaper cut-outs. It is evident from the fact that Coleman has bookmarked several of the books that he found them particularly significant, interesting or inspiring.
Some additional American artists whose work Coleman collected to a lesser extent include 'Krazy Kat' cartoonist George Herriman, cartoonist and 'New Yorker' contributor Roz Chas, and 'Cat' cartoonist B Kliban. As well as specific artists, Coleman sought out books or titles with particular titles, genres, styles or subject matters. For example, there are several 'New Yorker' cartoon and illustration anthologies based on themes as diverse as animals and love. Evidently Coleman was interested in U S cartoons or cartoon strips from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. There are a multitude of art and cartoon books from this period, including books on 'Little Orphan Annie', 'Popeye' and the work of Walt Disney.
In contrast to the more mainstream and accessible art and humour books in the collection, Coleman also had a number of 'Tijuana Bible' anthologies. The 'Tijuana Bibles' were pornographic 'minicomics' produced in the 1920s America during the time of prohibition. Although condemned as obscene material at the time, they have been reassessed by modern art and comic book historians as amongst the first forms of visual entertainment to push boundaries in terms of freedom of speech and censorship laws.
The series also contains several American alternative art, illustration, and humour books and magazines including 'Duplex Planet' a zine which compiled true stories told by pensioners and was later adapted as a comic book [see: LCO/1/4/23], caricature books of American politicians, and small group of miscellaneous art and comedy books. |