FOOTNOTES FROM THE MOST FASCINATING MUSEUMS by Bob Eckstein

(Princeton Architectural Press, May 2024)

A beautiful, smart, entertaining new art book from New Yorker cartoonist and author Bob Eckstein that is a love letter to museums and museum-goers, filled with lush and whimsical illustrations paired with stories and anecdotes from curators, museum workers, museum visitors, and more.

Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums is a collection of the greatest and most beloved museums of North America, illustrated and explored through fun and fascinating anecdotes. Curated by Bob Eckstein, author of the New York Times bestseller Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores, this delightful twist on an art history book shows these institutes in a way not seen before, illustrated in a lush and idealized style.

The 75+ museums featured include the biggest and boldest names (MoMA, the Whitney) and the more offbeat (Museum of Bad Art, the Museum of Jurassic Technology). They span the US, Canada, and Mexico and include those specializing in art, natural history, academia and science, and more. The 155 original pieces of artwork illustrate a story about the museum or showcase a particular work of art in its collection.

Featured museums include:

The Field Museum, Chicago
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
The Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA
The National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC
La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Museum of Motherhood, St. Petersburg, Florida
Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City, Mexico
American Museum of Natural History, New York
And many more

A perfect gift for artists, art lovers, students, travelers, and adventurers of all ages, this collection of funny, heartfelt, and quirky profiles is a thought-provoking, inspiring celebration of museums, why we go to them, and why we love them so much.

Bob Eckstein is an award-winning illustrator, writer, and cartoonist for the New Yorker, New York Times, Reader’s Digest, Smithsonian Magazine, Atlas Obscura, and many others. His Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores was a New York Times bestseller and made many “Best Of” 2016 lists and continues to be an “Amazon Most Wished for Title” years later. A postcard set based on that book was published in 2018. He is also the author of The History of the Snowman, The Illustrated History of the Snowman, and The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won’t Answer to Anyway). He was editor for The Ultimate Cartoon Book of Book Cartoons series and is contributing editor for Writer’s Digest. He lives in New York City. For more on Bob please visit his website.

Filed Under: Illustrators, Narrative Non-Fiction & Memoir Tagged With: ,

Dink! Pickleball Facts, Fictions & Cartoons by Ellis Rosen

(Union Square & Co., April 2023)

Maybe you’ve heard the word “pickleball,” but you want to know what all the fun is about. Or you’re already an enthusiastic fan and want to celebrate the ins, the outs, the dillballs, the chops, and the falafels of it all. Enter Ellis Rosen, resident cartoonist for In Pickleball magazine and frequent contributor to The New Yorker. Rosen is a master of communicating this fantastic sport’s primary characteristics with subtlety and wit. Alongside background on the game—its founding in 1995, the mysterious origins of its name, and more—Ellis will relate some tips for improving your on-court moves, a lovingly humorous glossary of pickleball terms, and some cheeky nods at pickleball culture. A celebration of community in addition to a what’s-what and how-to guide to this unique and amazing sport, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better gift for the pickleball lover in your life.

Ellis Rosen is a cartoonist, writer, and illustrator whose work appears regularly in The New Yorker. He has also been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, The Paris Review, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. For more on Rosen visit ellis-rosen.format.com.

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The Complete Book of Cat Names by Bob Eckstein

(That Your Cat Won’t Answer to, Anyway)
(Countryman Press, 2022)

Naming a cat is the most important step in your kitten’s life―New Yorker cartoonist Bob Eckstein can help.

Reader, beware! A cat’s name will set the tone for the rest of their personal and professional life. Recent studies from dubious cat blogs have shown that 80 percent of cat owners regret the name they gave their feline friends. The number one reason: it became too popular. Fear not. Whether the goal is a name to carry on family tradition or to find something new and different, The Complete Book of Cat Names is packed with options, along with all-new, cat-themed cartoons by Eckstein, making this crucial step in owning a pet a pleasure.

Here, you will find the most popular cat names (to avoid), bookstore cat names (Homer or Pip), cat names for foodies (S’more or Capers), James Bond villain cats (Golden Paws or Jinx), and many more. In addition, Eckstein provides handy charts for identifying a cat’s type (inside or outside, sassy or sweet). It’s the perfect gift for any cat owner.

Bob Eckstein is an award-winning illustrator and writer for The New Yorker, New York Times, and others. He is the author of Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores, The Ultimate Cartoon Book of Cartoons, and more. He lives in New York. For more on Bob Eckstein please visit bobeckstein.com.

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Send Help! by James Adams and Ellis Rosen

Send Help!: A Collection of Marooned Cartoons
by Jon Adams and Ellis Rosen (Voracious, 2021)

A hilarious collection of desert island cartoons from New Yorker cartoonists Jon Adams and Ellis Rosen to help us feel isolated…together.

This timely reflection on isolation brings together the best of a beloved genre, featuring an array of desert cartoons done in the signature single-panel style of a New Yorker cartoon. Whether you’re feeling marooned in too-close quarters with a loved one, are frantically dreaming up ways to escape from your own quarantine island, or are simply feeling nostalgic for palm trees and sand, these cartoons are sure to make you smile – and we could all use a laugh right now.

Drawn from a diverse collection of contributors, these humorous drawings are an essential addition to any coffee table collection, and bring a much-needed dose of levity to the circumstances we all find ourselves in.

Jon Adams is a New Yorker and MAD Magazine cartoonist based in San Francisco. He has created comics for McSweeney’s, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Wired, and Fantagraphics, written animated shorts for MTV, and created illustrations for Netflix, Bloomsbury, Chronicle Books, California Sunday, Sunset Magazine, Johns Hopkins Magazine, and Womens Wear Daily, among others. His work has appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Comedy Central’s @midnight, and CBS Sunday Morning.

Ellis Rosen is a cartoonist and illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, MAD Magazine, The Washington Post, Wired, The Paris Review and Air Mail. He has also done several comics for the Daily Shouts section at TheNewYorker.com. He is the illustrator of a children’s chapter book, Woundabout, from Little, Brown and a contributor to the Eisner-nominated graphic anthology Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land.

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The Illustrated History of the Snowman by Bob Eckstein

(Globe Pequot, Fall 2018)

A thoroughly entertaining exploration, this book travels back in time to shed light on the snowman’s enigmatic past — from the present day, in which the snowman reigns as the King of Kitsch, to the Dark Ages, with the creation of the very first snowman. Eckstein’s curiosity began playfully enough, but soon snowballed into a (mostly) earnest quest of chasing Frosty around the world, into museums and libraries, and seeking out the advice of leading historians and scholars. The result is a riveting history that reaches back through centuries and across cultures — sweeping from fifteenth-century Italian snowballs to eighteenth-century Russian ice sculptures to the regrettable “white-trash years” (1975-2000). The snowman is not just part of our childhood memories, but is an integral part of our world culture, appearing — much like a frozen Forrest Gump — alongside dignitaries and celebrities during momentous events. Again and again, the snowman pops up in rare prints, paintings, early movies, advertising and, over the past century, in every art form imaginable. And the jolly snowman — ostensibly as pure as the driven snow — also harbors a dark past full of political intrigue, sex, and violence.

With over two hundred illustrations, The Illustrated History of the Snowman is a truly original winter classic — smart, surprisingly enlightening, and quite simply the coolest book ever.

Bob Eckstein is an award-winning illustrator, writer, New Yorker cartoonist, snowman expert, and author of the New York Times bestselling Footnotes from the Greatest Bookstores (Clarkson Potter) and The History of the Snowman (Simon & Schuster). His cartoons, OpEds, and short stories appear regularly in the New York Times, New York Daily News, MAD magazine, Barron’s, Readers Digest, The Spectator, Prospect, Wall Street Journal, Playboy, among many others. He was a columnist for the Village Voice, New York Newsday, and Time Out New York. He has been interviewed in over 100 TV, radio and magazine spots including Good Morning America and People magazine.

For more on Bob Eckstein, please visit Bob Eckstein is an award-winning illustrator, writer, New Yorker cartoonist, snowman expert, and author of the New York Times bestselling Footnotes from the Greatest Bookstores (Clarkson Potter) and The History of the Snowman (Simon & Schuster). His cartoons, OpEds, and short stories appear regularly in the New York Times, New York Daily News, MAD magazine, Barron’s, Readers Digest, The Spectator, Prospect, Wall Street Journal, Playboy, among many others. He was a columnist for the Village Voice, New York Newsday, and Time Out New York. He has been interviewed in over 100 TV, radio and magazine spots including Good Morning America and People magazine.

For more on Bob Eckstein please visit bobeckstein.com.

Filed Under: Illustrators, Narrative Non-Fiction & Memoir Tagged With: ,

41 Reasons I’m Staying In: A Celebration of Introverts by Hallie Heald

(Morrow Gift, 2019)

In a world of seemingly unending social obligations, we could all use a night off. In 41 Reasons I’m Staying In, illustrator Hallie Heald––a self proclaimed introvert–imaginatively pierces the minds of introverts and portrays engaging and sometimes outlandish excuses to avoid public occasions. In 41 color paintings, Hallie creates depictions of women in their bedrooms partaking in bizarre hobbies, hatching plots or kicking back.

This both dark and joyous celebration of introverts offers a unique look into their private, and at times obsessive, worlds, reminding us of the deep fulfillment and peace we can obtain from spending time alone.

Illustrator and stylist Hallie Heald is a graduate of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. Her work has appeared in various magazines including Darling, Galore, Vogue India, Jute, Tantalum, and MODO magazine. Her styling clients have included Theory, Bloomingdales, Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Helmut Lang, and DKNY. She illustrated portraits of great women in New York history for the book The Women Who Made New York (Seal Press). For more on Hallie and her work, please visit hehdesignsny.com

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The Women Who Made New York by Hallie Heald

The Women Who Made New York

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Hallie Heald

HEH DesignsVisit HEH website

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Wondabout by Lev AC Rosen. Illustrated by Ellis Rosen.

wondaboutWelcome to Woundabout, where routine rules, and change is feared. But transformation is blowing in the wind…

In the wake of tragedy, siblings Connor and Cordelia with their pet capybara are sent to the precariously perched town of Woundabout to live with their eccentric aunt. Woundabout is a place where the mayor has declared that routine rules above all, and no one is allowed to ask questions.
But Connor and Cordelia can’t help their curiosity when they discover a strange crank that mysteriously fits into certain parts of town, and by winding the crank, part of the town is transformed into something beautiful. When the townspeople see this transformation, they don’t see beauty, they only see change. And change, the Mayor says, is something to fear. With the Mayor hot on their trail, can Connor and Cordelia find a way to wind Woundabout back to life?

Lev AC Rosen is the author of the critically acclaimed ALL MEN OF GENIUS (Tor, 2011), which was an Amazon best of the month, on over a dozen best of the year lists, and has been nominated for multiple awards. His middle grade novel, WOUNDABOUT, will be published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers in Summer 2015. His post-apocalyptic noir novel DEPTH will also be published in Spring 2015 with Regan Arts. His second middle grade novel, THE MEMORY WALL, will be published by Knopf Books for Young Readers in 2016. He received his BA from Oberlin College and his MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Lev teaches creative writing and lives in Manhattan.

Ellis Rosen’s illustrations can be seen at EllisRosen.com.

Publishers Weekly
Recently orphaned when their fathers—who trained bomb-sniffing capybaras—were killed in an explosion, siblings Connor, 11, and Cordelia, nine, have no relatives except their Aunt Marigold, who they have never met. When they arrive in the town of Woundabout, along with a surviving capybara, Connor and Cordelia discover that their aunt’s home is just as “weird” as their fathers had hinted—the town has no Internet service, the mayor doesn’t allow questions, and everyone in Woundabout is expected to stick to a predictable daily routine. When the mayor’s prized artifact goes missing, Cordelia and Connor decide to track it down. With the help of a boy named Nico, they begin to uncover the truth behind Woundabout’s origins and strange traditions in a fairy tale–like novel that weaves a gentle spell as it builds to a dramatic, satisfying conclusion. Lev Rosen (All Men of Genius) sensitively addresses change, growth, and painful emotions like grief, while Ellis Rosen’s b&w illustrations are alternately haunting, comedic, and poignant, in keeping with the overall tone of the story.

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How to Hang a Picture by Jay Sacher and Suzanne LaGasa

HowtoHangaPictureLike tying a Windsor knot or brewing a perfect cup of coffee, knowing how to hang art on your wall is a hallmark of everyday style and nuts-and-bolts know-how. The where, what, and whys of hanging art are an overlooked, under-appreciated line of inquiry. Most of us simply wing it with a quick eyeball and a swing of the hammer. How hard can it be? we think. What can go wrong? The answer, of course, is plenty: crumbling plaster, ruined antique laths, mismatched art hung too-close together, or a poorly-mounted photograph warping in its frame. But beyond the technical mishaps, there is a more essential lesson to be learned: The skill and consideration with which you hang your art makes an aesthetic statement about the world you inhabit—and more importantly, when it’s done right, it very clearly looks a whole lot better.

Slim and stylish, How to Hang a Picture: And Other Essential Lessons for a Stylish Home is a user-friendly guidebook that details everything you need to know about hanging, framing, and displaying art. If Strunk & White’s Elements of Style was crossed with a no-nonsense how-to manual, you will have captured the tone and immediacy of How to Hang a Picture: simple rules and essential information presented with charm and intelligence.

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History of the Snowman by Bob Eckstein

Who made the first snowman? Who first came up with the idea of placing snowballs on top of each other, and who decided they would use a carrot for a nose? Most puzzling of all: How can this mystery ever be solved, with all the evidence long since melted?
The snowman appears everywhere on practically everything — from knickknacks to greeting cards to seasonal sweaters we plan to return. Whenever we see big snowballs our first impulse is to deck them out with a top hat. Humorist and writer Bob Eckstein has long been fascinated by this ubiquitous symbol of wintertime fun — and finally, for the first time, one of the world’s most popular icons gets his due.

A thoroughly entertaining exploration, The History of the Snowman travels back in time to shed light on the snowman’s enigmatic past — from the present day, in which the snowman reigns as the King of Kitsch, to the Dark Ages, with the creation of the very first snowman. Eckstein’s curiosity began playfully enough, but soon snowballed into a (mostly) earnest quest of chasing Frosty around the world, into museums and libraries, and seeking out the advice of leading historians and scholars. The result is a riveting history that reaches back through centuries and across cultures — sweeping from fifteenth-century Italian snowballs to eighteenth-century Russian ice sculptures to the regrettable “white-trash years” (1975-2000).

The snowman is not just part of our childhood memories, but is an integral part of our world culture, appearing — much like a frozen Forrest Gump — alongside dignitaries and celebrities during momentous events. Again and again, the snowman pops up in rare prints, paintings, early movies, advertising and, over the past century, in every art form imaginable. And the jolly snowman — ostensibly as pure as the driven snow — also harbors a dark past full of political intrigue, sex, and violence.

With more than two hundred illustrations and a special section of the best snowman cartoons, The History of the Snowman is a truly original winter classic — smart, surprisingly enlightening, and quite simply the coolest book ever.

Bob Eckstein has been a humor writer for more than twenty years, and is most recognized for his popular weekly columns in Newsday, the Village Voice, and now, TimeOut. His cartoons and artwork have also appeared in publications like The New Yorker, the New York Times, Spy magazine, and Details. He splits his time between his studios in Manhattan and Pennsylvania.

Filed Under: Illustrators, Narrative Non-Fiction & Memoir Tagged With: ,

Captured by Mona Shafer Edwards & Jody Handley

Spellbinding courtroom illustrations of the most talked about trials of the last 25 years are coupled with insider observations and case summaries in this unique collection of poignant moments from infamous cases. Sketches of O. J. Simpson staring passively ahead while a projected image of his battered wife looms behind him and the parade of beautiful call girls present at the Heidi Fleiss trial are brought to life in the 200 vividly colored images. Courtroom commentary from the artist supplements the art from each trial and includes highlights and lowlights, verdict summaries, and reactions to the verdicts from the trial participants. Major and minor celebrities’ cases are covered, including those of Clint Eastwood, Snoop Dogg, Winona Ryder, Courtney Love, Dolly Parton, and Dustin Hoffman.

Mona Shafer Edwards is a courtroom artist who worked for ABC for 20 years and whose illustrations have been featured on programs such as 20/20, A&E Biography, CNN, and Entertainment Tonight, and in numerous publications, including Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, and Time. She lives in Los Angeles. Jody Handley is an editorial consultant and a former editor for Warner Books. She lives in San Francisco, California.

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