Two Thanksgivings passed by in the New Yorker‘s earliest years before a turkey made the cover. The artist for the issue of November 19, 1927: the one-and-only Rea Irvin.
Here’s Mr. Irvin’s entry on Ink Spill‘s “New Yorker Cartoonists A-Z”:
Rea Irvin (pictured above. Self portrait above from Meet the Artist) *Born, San Francisco, 1881; died in the Virgin Islands,1972. Irvin was the cover artist for the New Yorker’s first issue, February 21, 1925. He was the magazine’s first art editor, holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title. Irvin became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn succeeded Harold Ross. Irvin’s last original work for the magazine was the magazine’s cover of July 12, 1958. The February 21, 1925 Eustace Tilley cover had been reproduced every year on the magazine’s anniversary until 1994, when R. Crumb’s Tilley-inspired cover appeared. Tilley has since reappeared, with other artists substituting from time-to-time.
And what about the first Thanksgiving-themed cartoon in the magazine? That honor seems to belong to I. Klein, whose drawing appeared in the issue of November 21, 1925 (a cartoon in the issue the week before by Donald McKee does include a turkey, but it’s unclear if it is a Thanksgiving turkey).
The meaning of Mr. Klein’s drawing: from a quick history lesson this morning, I learned that President Coolidge upon taking office in 1923 decided to forgo the custom of receiving Thanksgiving turkeys from around the country, preferring to have only local turkeys. By Thanksgiving of 1925 he changed his mind. The drawing reflects the reversal; we see lines of gift-givers from around the country bringing the President a turkey to taste.
Mr. Klein’s A-Z Ink Spill entry:
I. (“Izzy”) Klein (pictured above) Born Isidore Klein, Newark, New Jersey, October 12,1897. Died, 1986. His papers can be found at Syracuse University. NYer work, over 200 drawings from 1925 through 1937.
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