Notes

From the Estate of Harvey Kurtzman. Bought from HA. Ink & crayon on onionskin paper. This is the very 1st conception/origin and drawing of MAD’s iconic logo/trademark; it’s also editor/artist Kurtzman’s 1st drawing of Alfred. Although Kurtzman guided MAD through its early comic book format (issues 1-23), his time with the revamped magazine would be painfully short; after a dispute with publisher William Gaines over ownership, he left not long after this 1st historic magazine issue. Kurtzman’s confident & spontaneous line work on the satiric border reflects the comic genius at the peak of his talent. This art appears in Denis Kitchen’s Art of Harvey Kurtzman (Abrams, 2009, p.108). This hung for many years at Kurtzman’s home; it was his only souvenir of that bittersweet time. The artwork certainly shows its age: There is a tear that divides the art in two, held together by old masking tape, which also was used to attach it to a backing board. Museum glass framed.