Held, John Jr.
1931

Pictorial Map of Lower Manhattan or Broadway Butterfly's Map

The Broadway Butterfly's Map of New York Showing the Primrose Path

DESCRIPTION: John Held, Jr., (1889-1958) was a cartoonist, illustrator, printmaker and author. Held's cartoons satirized and epitomized the United States' “Jazz Age” of the 1920s. Here, Held's cartoon for "Broadway Butterflys" satirizes the fast life of the New York elite with its focus on Wall Street, Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and Park Avenue. Shows the Jefferson Market Night Court, now the Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library and the morgue, "end of the Primrose Path." Presumably Held included the image to illustrate his story, “Broadway Butterfly,” in Held's second published collection of short stories, Dog Tales (1930).

Verso with an engraving by Held: "When the Theatre was Fraught with Romance."

Held was apparently a VERY popular cartoonist before the Depression. According to New York's Center Gallery:

"He lived in the era of cartoonists as national heroes. In 1927, Vanity Fair named Held to its “Hall of Fame” alongside international luminaries of the decade. The Hearst newspapers paid him $250,000 a year (nearly $4,000,000 today, adjusted for inflation) for his cartoon strip, Oh! Margy, and his drawings sold for up to $5,000 each, roughly the price of a house." (1)

(1) Online. Retrieved December, 2022. https://www.centergallerynyc.org/exhibitions/johnheldjr

CREATOR: Held, John Jr.

PUBLICATION DATE: 1931

GEOGRAPHIC AREA: United States

BODY OF WATER: Hudson River, East River

CONDITION: Very Good. Minimal age toning at the edges.

COLORING: None

ENGRAVER:

SIZE: 7 " x 10 "

ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 89

PRICE: $200

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