July 5th, 1993 was a simpler time. Facebook, Google, the iPhone and the phrase “social media” had yet to be invented. The “World Wide Web” aka “the internet” had been, but only techies who knew how to work a dial-up modem were actually using it.
Cartoonist Peter Steiner wasn’t among them. And yet, in that week’s issue of The New Yorker, he was somehow able to distill an essential truth of what, for better or worse, or maybe both, the internet was, is, and always will be.
Scanned directly from the recently auctioned original
As the internet grew, so did the popularity of the cartoon. By its tenth anniversary, it was already one of the most reprinted cartoons in the history of The New Yorker Magazine.
With the cartoon’s thirtieth anniversary in the rearview mirror, its relevance continues to grow, and transcends the category of “New Yorker Cartoon”. It is, bluntly, one of the best-known cartoons ever.
And as befits that status, the original of that iconic drawing is now one of the most valuable cartoons ever, selling at auction for a whopping $175,000, the highest price for a single-panel cartoon on record.
CartoonStock is proud to release an exclusive signed and numbered edition of this classic cartoon, scanned in high resolution directly from the original sold at auction. Own a piece of history with a painstakingly reproduced 100 piece limited edition run at its original 9×12 size on archival 100% cotton fiber acid free paper. Each piece is signed, and hand numbered by Peter Steiner himself and comes with a letter of authenticity from Bob Mankoff. It’s the highest quality reproduction available and the best version of the cartoon you can buy, next to the $175,000 original.
Printed on Moab Rag Natural paper, made from 100% cotton fiber, offers superb ink handling and a traditional feel. It also forgoes all optical brighteners for a natural brightness and whiteness. Also, the 22.5-mil thick sheets are acid and lignin free as well as water resistant and calcium carbonate buffered in order to ensure true archival longevity.
Keep Reading:
How Single-Panel Cartoons Became a Unique Art Form
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Part of our guide: The History & Art of Cartoons: A Visual Language Through Time
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