Holiday Mail Spot Illustration

Here's an opportunity to own an original New Yorker illustration at an affordable price.  Throughout its history, the New Yorker editors have utilized "spots" -- small uncaptioned (and frequently unsigned) illustrations -- to fill the space of short copy.  According to Art Editor Lee Lorenz, the spots also served as an opportunity for the reader to rest the eye.  Spots normally bore no relationship to the text in which they appeared, but rather -- as in the case here -- to the circumstances of the time or season of publication.  This delightful piece by painter and illustrator Thomas Eastwood, depicting the burden on public mail-boxes during the holiday season, was published in the New Yorker on December 10, 1938 (see image of tear sheet). Brush and ink resist on 7" x 11" paper of unknown type.  The entire piece is glued to a cardboard mat that measures 8" x 13", which is covered in plastic that is taped to the rear of the piece with aged masking tape.  Minor discoloration consistent w