1963 CARTOON CLASSICS Pamphlet

CARTOON CLASSICS ("SPREAD JOY, GET GAY! OVER 200 LAFFS") is a 5 1/4" x 4" 50 page pamphlet, with 2 staples as binding. This item, which I got as part of a larger lot thru eBay, was stamped with a 50 cents price at the top. The space on the bottom, the right size to stamp a name and address, is a hint that this was meant as a gift from one businessman to another.


There are no credits, except for a notation on the bottom of the back page: NO. LL-3 COPYRIGHT1963. Most of the book is like this: a few bawdy, not particularly clever comments like a guy would say to another guy in a tavern, and then, a gag cartoon.

Some of the cartoons are clever and risque; all in the Playboy vein. Some are well drawn.


Other cartoons, like the one above, lack the polish of a professional cartoonist. And the gags are off.

The Chinese lanterns and crepe twists, wispily drawn above the door, almost as an afterthought, lead me to believe that this is a costume party and knight is a guy in a costume who retrofitted a tub spout onto his armor. A respectable gag. But it was hard to make it clear; the cartoon didn't "read" in the requisite couple of seconds, at least, not for me.



Above: another old joke, but deftly handled. And this is the pattern: some good drawings, some not so good drawings. A real mixed bag. Like most of the cartoons in the pamphlet, it is unsigned.



The shape of the lady of the evening is lost in the background black spotting. Nevertheless, a provocative gag.


The above cartoon seems well done; good composition, excellent detail, with a swift, easy line of someone who's comfortable with their ink line. It too is unsigned.


Above: some nice work, but the cartoonist has hidden all of the hands except for one thumb (hers). A lot of beginners will try to hide hands rather than show them.


Above: a simple gag, but once again, out of a possible 4 hands, only one is drawn.


The overworked liney background is competing with the figures and blurring the cartoon's impact.


Above: a body function cartoon that is more gross than funny.



Above: a badly drawn cartoon with some poor proportions on the man and a woman whose reaction is obscured because her head is too small.


Above: another oddly drawn cartoon. The woman looks like she is from a different cartoonist than the man. Perhaps she was traced. No signature again.