Alice Harvey editorial cartoons

Content Description

This collection contains eight editorial cartoons created by Alice Harvey (1894-1983) for The New Yorker magazine. Alice Harvey Ramsey (professionally omitting her married name) debuted her work in The New Yorker in February 1925. She went on to have 160 drawings, three covers, and one short story published in the magazine. The original drawings are in ink, pencil, and charcoal, with notes and the tagline written on the drawings. Most of the eight cartoons in this collection are signed. Four are rough sketches with publisher notes and processing indications for cartoons that would be published. The eight cartoons in this collection include: “But, oh boy, I certainly hate soup spoons – they're too hard to get out of your mouth,” published in The New Yorker, May 14, 1927, page 23, which depicts four children seated at a birthday party with party hats and a birthday cake; “This is to be their living room! My dear, not really,” published in The New Yorker, March 29, 1930, page 19, which depicts two women looking at a closet-like space; “And what was that woman’s name, you know, the one we liked her husband so much,” published in The New Yorker, May 10, 1930, page 22, two women in dressing gowns in a bathroom; and “Well, what did you and Ellen do today?' We sat in my playhouse and were afraid of bears,” published in The New Yorker, June 20, 1931, page 28, which depicts a father and a daughter speaking together; an illustration of a man and a woman with an inset of a couple dancing, undated, stamped “The New Yorker Art Dept.” on verso; “Dig a pool – dam up the brook – install a couple of swans – and there you are,” undated, signed at lower right, stamped “Blues and Go Ahead” on verso; “I’m sure General MacArthur wouldn’t come to the table with hands that color,” undated, signed at lower right; and “The Beaux-Arts Ball,” which are three sketches mounted on board, undated, Blues and Go Ahead stamp on verso.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Honey & Wax, 21 October 2025.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No