Showing posts with label Gib Crockett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gib Crockett. Show all posts

Monday, June 09, 2025

Gib Crockett's original art, ties of friendship, and the ephemeralness of editorial cartooning

by Mike Rhode


 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."

image from eBay
 Crockett was one of the major political cartoonists in DC, working at the Washington Star alongside Clifford Berryman, and his son Jim Berryman as a sports cartoonist. He moved to editorial cartooning in 1948, and when he retired he was replaced by Pat Oliphant.  

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. 

Sunday, June 08, 2025

This weekend's Civitan flea market comics and cartoon finds (need some artist ID help)

This weekend's Civitan flea market comics and cartoon finds. Most were under 2 dollars. The comics and fanzines will go to the Library of Congress as will most of the ephemera. If anyone can help ID the World War II cartoonist, I'd appreciate it. And the golf blotter cartoonist.  


Signed first issue of Sex Criminals by Chip Zdarsky and
 Amanda Connor variant cover of Star Wars Princess Leia

Golf cartoon blotters from Minnesota Mining and Mfg Co by unknown cartoonist. 
Being donated to Library of Congress after hi-res scanning


Signed Herblock biography; these are still fairly easy to find around DC.

Dreams I fanzine cover. The Hobbit by CC Beck.

There's one copy at Bowling Green University library. Copies will be going to LoC and OSU soon.

A collection of fantasy illustrations by Frank Frazetta, Roy Krenkle, Robert Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Neal Adams, Jim Starlin, R. Crandall, Jeff Jones, Al Bradford and Martin Grimes, Berni Wrightson, and Vaughn Bode

Dreams I fanzine back cover. Flash Gordon by Al Williamson.

                                                                  Dreams I fanzine title page.


Adventures of Big Boy 288

Adventures of Big Boy 263, in New York City

Adventures of Big Boy 266, with Superman

Adventures of Big Boy 257

ERBdom 27 fanzine from 1969.

Draw! 16 with Howard Chaykin

Draw! 18 with R.M. Guera.

The Acid Test political cartoons by William Sanderson.   

Avengers Assemble featuring Captain Citrus #1.

Copies of these are going to LoC and OSU (if they want it)


Avengers Assemble featuring Captain Citrus #2.


"Tony's Sports Comics" Kellogg's cereal giveaway.  Published by DC Comics in conjunction with Sports Illustrated. Cover titled "Nolan Ryan in The Winning Pitch." Art by Angelo Torres, according to Rodrigo Baeza.

 

Jimmy's Coloring Book cover by Neal Adams.

Jimmy's Coloring Book inside page by Bob MacLeod?

Peanuts to President by Blanche Ackerman with cartoons by David Suter. Silver Spring, MD: Adam Publishing Co., 1977.  Only held in 4 libraries.




Fisherman's laugh book. [Baxter Lane Co.], [Amarillo, Tex.], [©1973] 1 copy in 1 library.  
  

Unidentified WWII cartoonist photocopy
 
Does anyone know who this is drawn by? There's a symbol in the lower right. When I used Google image search this is the slop it gave me:
 
 

Gib Crockett original cartoon of Franklin Roosevelt saying "My Country First" into a microphone

 
German cartoon print on fashion in women's hats, probably removed from a magazine. Translated title as Fantasy of Fall Styles, 1882.



Justice League movie mook.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Gib Crockett cartoons at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington

This is an automatically generated message, but I'll tweek it a bit - Gib Crockett designed custom labels for a local liquor store, and they're preserved here.

Here is an interesting link from the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington:

https://cjm.catalogaccess.com/archives/4249 (link updated 6/11/2024)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Did you know? Krazy Kat in Georgetown


Did you know that Georgetown University's Lauinger Library holds two original Krazy Kat Sunday pages by George Herriman? No, I didn't either. David Hagen showed them to me last week. They're in the Archives, of course, as is at least one large collection of political cartoons, from a politician who collected images of himself, I think. There's definitely a Clifford Berryman in there, and I saw a Gib Crockett on the University Archivist's wall. I'm afraid I can't figure out their website well enough to track down the collection though, but you could contact them to ask.