Sports, Football, Harvard Lampoon, Satirical Cartoon, Antique Drawing, Early 20th Century

Harvard Lampoon Football Satirical Cartoon
[Cambridge, Massachusetts]: c. 1900-1930
Pen and ink on stiff paper
9 x 13.5 inches, lined border
11 x 15 inches, overall
$575

Original satirical pen and ink illustration art of football players created at the turn of the 20th century for the Harvard Lampoon, Harvard University’s renowned humor magazine. The players are posed as figures of a classical frieze grasping to catch not a football, but a bag of money emblazoned with a large dollar sign. In the lower left corner is the emblem of the Lampoon, an ibis, observing the action. The players are wearing leather helmets of a design used in the early 20th century, dating it to that time period. In the lower margin in light blue ink is the handwritten notation “30 picas” to indicate the width for publication, though it is not known if the cartoon was actually published. The cartoon was located with a large collection of other original Harvard Lampoon pen and ink drawings from the same period.

Condition: Generally very good, recently professional cleaned and deacidified with light rust paperclip stain in upper blank margin (can be matted out). Minor creasing and few short marginal tears professionally restored as backed on Japanese paper.