The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker
The Cover: Lemmings
The Cartoonists And Cartoons:
Fifteen cartoons, sixteen cartoonists* — the Spill counts duos as one cartoonist. There are two duos in this issue, that we know of. Roz Chast has a “Sketchbook.” There is one newbie, Niall Maher, who is the tenth addition to the cartoonist stadium this year, and the one hundred and thirty-sixth cartoonist brought in under Emma Allen’s stewardship of the cartoon department, begun in May of 2017. The longest active cartoonist in this issue is Roz Chast, who began contributing to The New Yorker in July of 1978.
*Plus the three Caption Contest Cartoonists: Jerald Lewis, Lonnie Millsap, Mike Twohy.
The Rea Irvin Talk Watch:
In May of 2017, the below Talk design by the late great Rea Irvin, was escorted off the stage where it had played for 92 years, and replaced by — if you can believe it — a redrawn version. The Spill continues to hope Mr. Irvin’s classic design will be reunited with the magazine. Read more 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): 163. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.