The New Yorker 75th Anniversary Cartoon Collection: 2005 Desk Diary

by Robert Mankoff

If you like inexpensive restaurants where the main course is Beluga caviar, radio stations that play nothing but your favorite hits, and airlines that automatically upgrade you to first class and never lose your luggage, forget it. There's no such thing. But here's a dream that actually comes The New Yorker 75th Anniversary Cartoon Collection, the biggest and funniest collection of New Yorker cartoons ever assembled. From the unforgettable classics to contemporary favorites, this drawing gallery of comic genius spans nearly the entire 20th century!

This satisfyingly bulky volume brings together the best of every New Yorker reader's favorite feature of his or her favorite magazine. Edited and introduced by New Yorker cartoon editor and no-slouch-himself cartoonist Bob ("How about never -- is never good for you?") Mankoff, The New Yorker 75th Anniversary Cartoon Collection is a riotous panorama of three-quarters of a century of life, love, business, society, and human nature as seen by the most gifted comic artists on the planet -- Peter Arno, Charles Addams, Mary Petty, Roz Chast, William Steig, Jack Ziegler, and many more. Besides reminding us of how fresh the old favorites remain, The New Yorker 75th Anniversary Cartoon Collection unearths page after page of long-forgotten gems that startle us with their perspicacious commentary on the ever-changing world around us and the neverchanging ways we react to it, cope with it, and stumble (or, occasionally, triumph) over it.

The New Yorker 75th Anniversary Cartoon Collection is too thick to be Scotch-taped to the refrigerator or pinned on the bulletin board, but every one of these on-the-nose cartoons yields an insight that stays sharp -- and stays funny -- every time. The New Yorker' s cartoons and its cartoonists are one of the great treasures of the century. Trusting their keen eye for the idiosyncrasies of people and the caprices of culture, we know we can rely on them to make us laugh, over and over again, as they reveal what we are really thinking about -- usually before we realize it ourselves.

Genres: Humor, Art, Nonfiction, Comic Strips, Comics, Graphic Novels

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Robert Mankoff is an American cartoonist, editor, and author. He was the cartoon editor for The New Yorker for nearly twenty years. Before he succeeded Lee Lorenz as cartoon editor at The New Yorker, Mankoff was a New Yorker cartoonist for twenty years.

Reviews

[Anthony McGill]

As you would expect from The New Yorker, a sublime collection of witty cartoons and artwork which never seems to be dated. Not laugh out loud or crass humor, just amusing, intelligent observations of the human condition.

[Jelena Nemet]

"Now me, you couldn't pay me to read an introduction to a cartoon book. I'd jump straight to the cartoons. You could, however, pay me to write one. Even so, I'm still tempted to stop writing and jump ahead. More than tempted, actually. I'll be back in a minute; wait right here...
Okay. I'm back now, ready to blurb my brains out." ~ Bob Mankoff

[TJ Wilson]

I mean, you might as well read it.

[Judy]

This "riotous panorama" of humor did put a smile on my face, but it wasn't riotous. There were several cartoons that I didn't understand, but I found quite a few that met my vague requirements for a cartoon that warrants saving.

I wish that each featured cartoon had been labeled, including creator and publication date.

[Julia]

I probably only understood about 30-40% of the approx. 600 (?) cartoons in this collection. Of those I understood, I probably liked about 15%. I still thoroughly enjoyed reading them all, plus the introduction by Mankoff.

Also, memories from my childhood came back when I found three cartoons by the French illustrator/cartoonist Sempe in this collection. I used to own a book (Der kleine Nick in den Ferien) that was illustrated by Sempe, which I loved.

[Hanna]

I found this book in a Little Free Library in Germantown. Read most of it today while I was curled up on the couch sick. I was surprised how many of the cartoons I didn’t really get…and the ones that I did understand had more of a “hum” reaction than a 🤣 reaction. Maybe one-panel cartoons are just not my cup of tea.

[Alison Whiteman]

What's not to like about a book of dry wit?

[Child960801]

It's exactly what it says it is.

[Chris J]

Thanks, Stephen!

[Malbadeen]

This is when it's good to have a bad memory because I forget the cartoons in between looking at it and they make me laugh every damn time....oh those silly, silly lemmings. The only drawbacks of this book are the dimensions and thickness. I think the newer collection which is more comprehensive and bigger than my ass in it's 9th month of pregnancy should be banned for it atrocious bulkyness.
Note to Sarah: I can't figure out how to put the beautifuly proprtioned Mother Goose collection on to this site (can't find it, can't download it whatever).

[Robin]

a great book to look at when you need a laugh. I had seen many before, but they never get old!