People Who Like Humor
I love people who love humor. I married a cartoonist, after all. Specifically, what I mean is that I am very appreciative of those who value humor as a positive tool or way to say things or a method of connecting. So many don’t realize its power.
The other day I was in midtown Mahattan with some time to spare, and I went and visited a place I had been meaning to go see. The two people who founded The New Yorker had a townhouse in Hell’s Kitchen on West 47th Street. Harold Ross and Jane Grant, (he, a former editor at Judge, and she a reporter for The New York Times), were married and wanted to start a humor magazine. A humor magazine! No one wants to do that now, or rather no one thinks there is any audience for it, certainly no money in it. Perhaps Grant and Ross hoped they would make money from their idea, but I like to think they also thought it would be a needed thing in 1925. And fun.
This is the building on West 47th Street, where Ross and Grant lived and conspired to start—and I could say did start— The New Yorker Magazine.
As it turns out, Grant and Ross were right: it was a needed thing and apparently still is, because The New Yorker has been going strong for a very long time. It will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2025. The magazine now has more diverse content than humor, but it has consistently retained its humor drawings, as the cartoons were called then.
And for that, I am very appreciative.
We need humor, always. It helps lighten our mood, connects us. The art in The New Yorker has come from amazing creators who observe us and help us understand ourselves and each other.
Thank you, Harold and Jane!
Yes, thank you Harold and Jane and all of you who publish cartoons in the New Yorker. The first thing I do when a new magazine arrives is to flip through to read all the comics. (And look for ones done by you, Liza!). Then, on to the serious stuff.
On your recommendation I listened to “ Genius in disguise : Harold Ross of the New Yorker” as an audio book. Ross and Grant’s story was fascinating and a wonderful account of the origins and evolution of The New Yorker.
I am sure this was a special visit for you. Thanks for sharing.