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Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
SAUL STEINBERG. "Chicago: The Second City." Together, cover and two interior illustrations for pages 5 and 73 of the same-titled book by A. J. Liebling (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952). Pen and ink over graphite on paper. Cover is 355x420 mm; 14x16 1/4 inches, on 14x22 1/2-inch sheet. Unsigned. Sheet has some offsetting from overlay (overlay not included in lot). Interior illustration image sizes vary, both on 290x365mm; 11 1/2x14 1/2-inch sheets. Page 5 initialed "ST" in lower right image, with The New Yorker stamp on verso. Page 73 is not signed, but has preliminary sketch and doodles on verso.
First appearing in three consecutive issues of The New Yorker beginning on January 12, 1952, Liebling's essays and subsequent book employ his characteristic sarcasm and wit to paint a decidedly unfavorable picture of Chicago, which in his view had failed to live up to its historic ambitions for greatness. Steinberg's accompanying illustrations add a sense of lighthearted whimsy to Liebling's caustic observations.
This grouping includes the book cover, page 5 (which also appeared in the first essay published in The New Yorker), and page 73.
