Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
This issue features cover art by Peter Arno, an artist widely regarded as the single most consequential cartoonist in The New Yorker's history and a figure whose work fundamentally shaped the magazine's identity from its earliest years. Arno contributed cartoons and 101 covers to The New Yorker beginning in 1925, the magazine's very first year, continuing his association with the publication until his death in 1968, and in 2015 New Yorker contributor Roger Angell described him simply as the magazine's first genius. Beyond his cover work, Arno produced over a thousand cartoons for the magazine, contributions that the Society of Illustrators credits with elevating the single-panel cartoon into a genuine art form and earning him recognition as the father of the modern magazine cartoon. A December 6, 1947 issue featuring his cover work sits well within the most productive and influential stretch of that 43-year career, capturing his style at a point when his reputation within American illustration was already firmly established. For collectors of The New Yorker's classic covers, a confirmed Arno cover from this period represents one of the most significant names available within the magazine's entire cover-art history.
Arno's particular artistic territory, the satirical depiction of New York's wealthy café society, gave his work a distinctive social edge that distinguished it from much of the gentler cartooning published elsewhere in the magazine. Britannica credits Arno's satirical drawings, particularly of New York café society, with doing much to establish The New Yorker's broader reputation for sophisticated humor. A scholarly analysis of his career estimated that Arno earned a combined sixty-one thousand dollars in 1942 from his New Yorker and advertising work alone, equivalent to roughly nine hundred thousand dollars in 2016 terms, reflecting just how commercially significant and in-demand his work had become by the period surrounding this issue. Arno was born Curtis Arnoux Peters Jr., the son of a New York State Supreme Court judge, and adopted his pen name shortly after his cartoons began appearing in the magazine. By the time this December 1947 cover was published, Arno had spent more than two decades cultivating the exact satirical sensibility that had become inseparable from the magazine's own public identity.
Arno's reputation has only grown in the decades since his death, reinforced by formal institutional recognition and continued scholarly attention to his work. He was inducted into the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame, which credits his bold lines, elegant compositions, and sharp social commentary with shaping the visual identity of The New Yorker during its formative decades. One of his most enduringly famous individual contributions, a March 1, 1941 cartoon depicting an engineer walking away from a plane crash with the caption "well, back to the old drawing board," became a phrase that has since been referenced across numerous other cartoons, comedy sketches, and films. A full biography of Arno's life and career, written by fellow New Yorker cartoonist Michael Maslin and titled "Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist," was published in 2016, underscoring the continued scholarly and popular interest in his work nearly a half-century after his death. A December 1947 cover by Arno is therefore a documented example of work by an artist now formally recognized as one of the defining figures in twentieth-century American illustration, of particular relevance to anyone exploring our 1947 magazines collection.
About the Publication
The New Yorker has been published continuously since 1925 and built its reputation on a distinctive combination of long-form journalism, fiction, criticism, and cartoons, all wrapped in cover art that became one of the magazine's most recognizable signatures. Unlike many general-interest magazines of the era, The New Yorker's covers rarely featured photography or celebrity imagery, instead commissioning original illustrations from a roster of artists whose individual styles became closely associated with the publication itself. Its audience skewed urban, literary, and culturally engaged, and by the late 1940s the magazine had firmly established itself as a benchmark for sophisticated American prose and visual wit, a reputation Peter Arno's work had helped build from the magazine's very first year of publication. The magazine's cartoon and cover department during this period operated under longtime Art Editor James Geraghty, who worked to coordinate contributions across dozens of regular artists throughout the 1940s and beyond.
Key Highlights Inside
- Original cover artwork by Peter Arno, one of 101 covers he produced for The New Yorker over a 43-year association with the magazine spanning 1925 to 1968. Arno is widely regarded as the single most influential cartoonist in the publication's history.
- A confirmed publication date of December 6, 1947, placing this issue squarely within the most productive and commercially successful stretch of Arno's long career with the magazine.
- Cover artwork reflecting Arno's signature satirical depiction of New York's café society, the subject matter most closely associated with his decades of contributions to the publication.
- Specific interior articles, named contributors, or feature content beyond the cover are unconfirmed for this issue; readers should consult the listing's photographs for the exact table of contents.
Condition & Rarity
This issue is described as being in good condition for its age, showing only minimal signs of wear, a grade reflecting a complete and well-preserved copy nearly eight decades after its original publication. Minimal wear consistent with careful handling and storage is a favorable condition outcome for a periodical of this age, particularly one bound with the lighter materials typical of weekly magazines from the 1940s. The cover itself, as the primary visual and collectible focal point for New Yorker issues featuring artists of Arno's stature, is the element most closely scrutinized by collectors in this category, and its presentation should be assessed directly from the listing's accompanying photographs. For a periodical from this era, a cover in good condition with minimal wear represents a solid example for collectors specifically seeking confirmed Arno cover art, given his significance within the broader history of the publication.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Original New Yorker covers by Peter Arno are of lasting significance to collectors and historians of American illustration alike, given his documented status as one of the most influential cartoonists in the magazine's history and his formal recognition by institutions including the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. Our New Yorker collection is a great place to browse other available covers and issues from across the magazine's long publishing history, and our 1947 magazines collection offers a broader look at other publications from the same year for anyone building a collection around this specific period of mid-century American print culture.