Collecting Peter Arno's Works

Peter Arno perfected the single speaker captioned cartoon, is the father of the gag cartoon, and is a master illustrator.

His cartoons may not be what you think of as far as the Golden Age of Comics, but his use of humor to make editorial statements about society certainly gives him a place in the Golden Age of satirical art. And let's not forget that his depictions of voluptuous women being pursued by lecherous men are not only a wonderful treat for the eyes, but broke ground for the cartoons and illustrations seen in Playboy today.

As a huge fan of Peter Arno's work, I naturally collect his works as I can.

I'm not going to write a bio for Arno because the definitive Peter Arno biography, including more art, is here. (Seriously the best anywhere.) But I will tell you collectors a bit more about where to find Arno's work.

In the mid-1930s cartoons and comic strips briefly dominated advertising. So, the work of Peter Arno appeared not only in The New Yorker as 'content', but also in the ads as well. This includes advertising in other magazines in the 1930s.



Arno even appeared in an ad for Angus Scotch whiskey.



Along with ads, his work appeared in anthologies, playbills etc. So there are plenty of places to look for Arno besides his books.

Just take a look at what a search for "Peter Arno" turns up at eBay!

His books though, are gems. Here's a list of Peter Arno's books:

Whoops, Dearie (1927)
Parade (1929)
Hullabaloo (1930)
Circus (1931)
Circus (London: The Bodley Head 1933)
Favorites (1932)
For Members Only (1935)
Cartoon Revue (1941)
Man in the Shower (1944)
The Bedside Tales (1945)
The Peter Arno Pocket Book (1946)
Sizzling Platter (1949)
Crepes Suzettes (1950)
Ladies and Gentlemen (1951)
The New Peter Arno Pocket Book (1955)
Hell of a Way to Run a Railroad (1956)
The Penguin (1957)
Lady in the Shower (1967)
Peter Arno (1979)

A note to collectors: as usual, books with dust jackets are rare, but this is especially true for 'Favorites'.

I recommend looking for Peter Arno's books at ABE; book dealers know what they are talking about as far as conditions.

Arno's work can also be found in Sketch Book of American Humorists (1938, and collectible for several reasons), College Humor (1937), Helena (1950, dustjacket illustrations for Evelyn Waugh), and The Bedsides Tales: A Gay Collection (1945, illustrations).

This list is by no means 'all'; if you have other titles or know of other works, please post them in the comments area!