I was looking up information on Gib Crockett after buying the FDR drawing previously posted here. It led me down a rabbit hole, as cartooning history often does. My previous posts on him* are barely worth linking to.
This drawing** popped up in my search: Gib Crockett Washington Star Cartoonist Signed Humorous Sketch Surgeon & Nurse - it was very reasonably priced and hit two of my interests - DC cartoonists and medicine. The description read in part,
This humorous sketch, drawn in pencil by Gib Crockett (1912-2000), political cartoonist for the Washington Star, was a gift to my grandfather (the "Walter" mentioned in the caption). Gib Crockett and my grandfather were friends and played squash together. My grandfather was a member of the University Club in Washington, DC. and passed away in 1987. I do not know when this was given to my grandfather.
I reached out to the seller, who told me it was dedicated to his grandfather, Walter M. Macomber, and wrote, " I'm so glad that this has gone to a good home where it will be appreciated. My grandfather lived on Arlington Ridge Road up until the 1960s, so it's going home."
I asked if he had any more information, but "All I know for sure is that my grandfather played competitive squash at the University Club, up until he was in his 80’s. He used to play Gib Crockett, even though Gib was younger. How much of a friendship outside of the University Club existed, I am not sure."
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| image from eBay |
Crockett is largely unremembered today, and he doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. A nice essay by Marjorie Wedderburn, "Gib Crockett: DC Editorial Cartoonist" talks about her family connection through her great aunt and uncle, similar to this eBay seller, although they appear to have had a much deeper friendship.
Syracuse University Library has a small Gib Crockett Cartoons Collection. The Library of Congress has original art, but you need to visit to see anything more than a thumbnail.
His WaPo obituary is at "Editorial Cartoonist Gibson Crockett; Drew for Washington Evening Star," Washington Post February 20, 2000, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/02/20/editorial-cartoonist-gibson-crockett/2eef05a5-0218-4882-9fc1-324f8c7b97ba/ For the collector like me, it noted, "In addition to his editorial cartoons, Mr. Crockett illustrated the covers of the program for the Army-Navy football game for 41 years until 1984." I'm going to try to avoid pursuing them... space is too tight and live is too short.
Mr. Macomber seems to have been an interesting man as well. An architect and architectural historian, he worked on Mount Vernon archeology, the renovation of the Old Fairfax Courthouse, and the State Department's Diplomatic Reception Rooms. He served on the Commission of Fine Arts, and his papers are at Colonial Williamsburg. ... well except for this cartoon that I'll be glad to own until I pass it on to the next owner.
*I don't seem to have followed up writing about Gib Crockett tumblers, and 18 years later, I have no idea what I was thinking about.
