Video Of Interest: Rea Irvin
Here’s a really well done, well researched Rea Irvin-centric video. Watch here.
Rea Irvin’s A-Z Entry:
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 and only art supervisor (some refer to him as its first art editor) holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title of art editor. Irvin then became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn officially succeeded Harold Ross in early 1952. 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. Number of New Yorker covers (not including the repeat appearances of the first cover every anniversary up to 1991): 179. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.
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Drew Panckeri’s Library Card
Mr. Panckeri, who doesn’t show up on this site often enough, is featured in this February 16, 2026 piece from New Jersey’s Northern Valley Press, “A library card redesign from the heart: Picture book maker, ‘New Yorker’ cartoonist, and Westwood patron Drew Panckeri says he’s happy to give back”
Mr. Panckeri began contributing to The New Yorker in 2015. Visit his website here.
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This Book!
Of the stack of New Yorker Albums published over the years, beginning with the first in 1928, the 1950-1955 Album remains a top five favorite. The cover was love at first sight. Combining New Yorker drawings with New Yorker covers (and a spot drawing) was a brilliant idea — the art of the magazine back then was truly of a whole (with not a innovative updated Eustace Tilley in sight). It was a unique presence made of unique artistry.
The 40 cover color plates are spectacular — a forerunner to the (giant) must-have 1989 Complete Book Of Covers From The New Yorker: 1925-1989.
Here’s the back cover of the Album:
