Group of Four Depression-Era Newspaper cartoons

Group of Four Depression-Era Newspaper cartoons, 1933-1937 India ink, lithographic crayon, and gouache on heavyweight paper 13-1x2 x 12-3x4 inches (34.3 x 32.4 cm) (What He Needs Is a New Pair of Pants, image) Each signed Four original Uncle Sam newspaper editorial cartoons address the issues faced by America in the years of the Great Depression. Walter Joseph Enright, created The Big Dumbbell Act, and it was published in the New York American in January 1933. Uncle Sam is pinioned under the weight of "Treasury Deficit," "Government Obligations," and the "Debtor Nations" of World War I have added "War Debts" to his burden. Mr. Enright was an illustrator and cartoonist whose work appeared in the New York American and New York World and a variety of popular magazines including The Century Magazine, Collier's, Scribner's, McClure's, and Life. After a move to Florida he was the cartoonist for the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post. (image size: 11" x 14.75") Arthur V. Buel began his career at newspapers in mining towns of the Yukon Territory of Canada before relocating to Nevada in 1905. In 1922, he became staff cartoonist for the Fresno Bee and Sacramento Bee newspapers in California. His original titled Willing to Sell, If Not to Pay depicts Uncle Sam still holding "French War Debt" as the ship "La Belle France," loaded with French wine, approaches the dock. It was published in the Fresno Bee on November 13, 1933. (image size: 8.25" x 7.5") Illustrator and cartoonist George T. Maxwell portrayed a bewildered Uncle Sam burdened with an "Antiquated Patch-Work Tax System" in What He Needs Is a New Pair of Pants, published on September 29, 1937, in the Wilmington Journal (Delaware). Mr. Maxwell studied under Carey Orr at the Chicago Academy of Art and was on the art staff of Wilmington newspapers until 1940 when he moved west to become the cartoonist for the Arizona Daily Star and San Francisco Examiner. (image size: 13.5" x 12.75") This delightfully cartoony original by Vic Johnson was created for his "News Events" series that was published each week for the Sunday edition of the Boston Herald newspaper. Dated to 1933-1934 it features Uncle Sam beefing up the US Navy with an order for 21 warships; American manufacturers, retailers and distributors rushing to settle in under the Blanket Code of the National Recovery Administration (saluted by the family at upper right); and Uncle Sam, John Bull and a representative of France at the end of another failed conference designed to solve world problems. Mr. Johnson was a leading sports and editorial cartoonist of the Boston Herald from the 1930s to the 1960s. (image size: 11" x 12.25") Quantity: (4) HID03101062020 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.comxTexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Condition
Toning to each. Notable vertical crease through left region of Willing to Sell If not to Pay example. Faint vertical crease through center region of The Big Dumbbell Act; light stain in upper left corner, likely due to liquid, not affecting central image. Scattered light surface dirt and smudges to areas of negative space and along extreme edges. Wear and markings to margins of page in keeping with illustration and publishing process. Each not framed. Each sheet overall: 12.75 x 17.25 inches, 9 x 8 inches, 15 x 14.75 inches and 14 x 13 inches Heritage Auctions strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. Statements by Heritage regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Heritage. All lots offered are sold "AS IS"