Newton Pratt (1901-1985), Unconstitutional, Chicago Herald-Examiner newspaper cartoon and In The Ring, Sacramento Bee newspaper cartoon (two works), (circa 1942; circa 1935)
Paul Plaschke (German/American, 1880-1954) and Newton Pratt (American, 1901-1985) Unconstitutional, Chicago Herald-Examiner newspaper cartoon and In The Ring, Sacramento Bee newspaper cartoon (two works), circa 1935; circa 1942 India ink, blue pencil, lithographic crayon, and gouache on various paper types 11-1/4 x 10 inches (28.6 x 25.4 cm) (In The Ring, image) 13 x 11-1/2 inches (33.0 x 29.2 cm) (Unconstitutional, image) Each signed in lower region: Newton Pratt; Plaschke Newton Pratt was the editorial cartoonist for the Sacramento Bee from 1938 to 1971, and his cartoons appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. His original work In the Ring was published in the Bee on October 5, 1942, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt was considering his ninth appointment to the Supreme Court. Justice James Byrnes resigned in October, and it was considered politically advisable to name a replacement from west of the Mississippi. FDR settled on Wiley B. Rutledge, who fit the bill and was a liberal New Dealer strongly supportive of the President and his policies. The newspaper's annotated engraving order dated October 5th is mounted to the back. Paul Plaschke was born in Berlin, Germany and emigrated with his family to the USA in 1884. He studied at the Cooper Union Art School and at the Art Students League in New York under George Luks. His newspaper career began with the Albany Evening Post and Louisville Times, and The Courier-Journal in Louisville (Kentucky) through the 1920s. In the late-1930s he was at The Herald-Examiner in Chicago. He created a comic strip titled Sleepy Sid in the 1910s and gained renown as an impressionist landscape painter. The publication date of Unconstitutional is undetermined, yet it depicts a relatively youthful FDR wearing "New Deal" shirt buttons rather than "full dress white ones." That and the title likely date it to 1935-1936 when the US. Supreme Court declared several key New Deal programs unconstitutional. The little fellow Mr. Plaschke included in many of his cartoons appears next to his signature located between FDR and the snooty "President's Critic." (image size: 13" x 11.5") Quantity: (2) HID09710052018 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice
Condition Report: One on heavyweight paper and one on tracing paper. Scattered light handling creases to Unconstitutional example; area of undulations in upper left; faint diagonal crease in upper left, partially affecting figure with glasses; minor loss at lower right, not affecting central image. Handling crease at upper center edge of In the Ring; very light linear stain lower left in area of negative space; some light handling smudges and faint stains along extreme edges. Wear and markings to margins of pages in keeping with illustration and publishing process. Each not framed. Each sheet overall: 14 x 11 inches and 15 x 12.25 inches
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Paul Plaschke (German/American, 1880-1954) and Newton Pratt (American, 1901-1985) Unconstitutional, Chicago Herald-Examiner newspaper cartoon and In The Ring, Sacramento Bee newspaper cartoon (two works), circa 1935; circa 1942 India ink, blue pencil, lithographic crayon, and gouache on various paper types 11-1/4 x 10 inches (28.6 x 25.4 cm) (In The Ring, image) 13 x 11-1/2 inches (33.0 x 29.2 cm) (Unconstitutional, image) Each signed in lower region: Newton Pratt; Plaschke Newton Pratt was the editorial cartoonist for the Sacramento Bee from 1938 to 1971, and his cartoons appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. His original work In the Ring was published in the Bee on October 5, 1942, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt was considering his ninth appointment to the Supreme Court. Justice James Byrnes resigned in October, and it was considered politically advisable to name a replacement from west of the Mississippi. FDR settled on Wiley B. Rutledge, who fit the bill and was a liberal New Dealer strongly supportive of the President and his policies. The newspaper's annotated engraving order dated October 5th is mounted to the back. Paul Plaschke was born in Berlin, Germany and emigrated with his family to the USA in 1884. He studied at the Cooper Union Art School and at the Art Students League in New York under George Luks. His newspaper career began with the Albany Evening Post and Louisville Times, and The Courier-Journal in Louisville (Kentucky) through the 1920s. In the late-1930s he was at The Herald-Examiner in Chicago. He created a comic strip titled Sleepy Sid in the 1910s and gained renown as an impressionist landscape painter. The publication date of Unconstitutional is undetermined, yet it depicts a relatively youthful FDR wearing "New Deal" shirt buttons rather than "full dress white ones." That and the title likely date it to 1935-1936 when the US. Supreme Court declared several key New Deal programs unconstitutional. The little fellow Mr. Plaschke included in many of his cartoons appears next to his signature located between FDR and the snooty "President's Critic." (image size: 13" x 11.5") Quantity: (2) HID09710052018 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice
Condition Report: One on heavyweight paper and one on tracing paper. Scattered light handling creases to Unconstitutional example; area of undulations in upper left; faint diagonal crease in upper left, partially affecting figure with glasses; minor loss at lower right, not affecting central image. Handling crease at upper center edge of In the Ring; very light linear stain lower left in area of negative space; some light handling smudges and faint stains along extreme edges. Wear and markings to margins of pages in keeping with illustration and publishing process. Each not framed. Each sheet overall: 14 x 11 inches and 15 x 12.25 inches
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