Back to Gruel!

That's obviously not Ebenezer Scrooge shown above, but the 1833 British lithograph does give us some insight as to why Scrooge was earing gruel on Christmas Eve!

For more info, check out this entry on the Library of Congress website!

Did they really have a cure for the common cold back then?

 As Summer starts to wind down, time for another dip in the pool:

Actually, if you had a pool like that, any time of year is good for a dip!

Meta!

I always like to have fun with something meta, such as this illustration:

How can Scrooge be reading "A Christmas Carol?" 

Or is that not "A Christmas Carol" as we know it,  but another book with that title in Scrooge's fictional universe?

Or is that not really Scrooge?

It reminds me of the beginning of the "Shower of Stars" version where a gentleman purchases a copy of "A Christmas Carol" in a bookshop, then walks into the story.

Of course, I do realize that this is just a fun illustration, but it does raise questions!

The art is by Amber Duan and is from the Study Breaks website where it accompanies an essay by Angelica Rovinksi.

There's an interesting little nugget thrown in that I'll talk about next time...

"Boys' Life" (December 1998)

Here's an cool illustration by Bill Cigliano for the December 1998 issue of "Boys' Life" magazine:

Not sure what's inside, but the characters we see on Scrooge's hat are intriguing, including the very Ann Rutherford-looking Ghost of Christmas Past!

Compare and contrast with the 1952 issue of "Boys' Life" we saw way back when!

A Vision!

Here's an interesting editorial cartoon from 1886:

That's the ghost of Benjamin Disraeli showing the vision to not-really Scrooge.

I don't really "get" it, but I dig it!

"The Sesame Street Storytime Calendar" (1982)

A new year always brings new calendars and 1982 was no exception, with that year's "Sesame Street" calendar featuring scenes from classic stories for each month, with the Muppets taking on the parts, as illustrated by Michael J. Smollin.

So, December wisely chose "A Christmas Carol":

Oscar the Grouch naturally takes on the Scrooge part, which anticipates 2006's "A Sesame Street Christmas Carol," although in that special he was still himself as a Scrooge surrogate.

Bert is portraying Bob Cratchit and Ernie would be Peter, as he's wearing one of Bob's collars, which is a nice touch.

The calendar's cover points out that these are the "Sesame Street" Muppets, as opposed to "The Muppet Show" Muppets, who, of course, later featured in 1992's "The Muppet Christmas Carol."

So, a nice little vignette here!

As a bonus, let's go back ten years to 1972, for what I think was the first "Sesame Street" calendar (the show had premiered in 1969).

It interestingly features art by the legendary Jack Davis, best-known for his work in "MAD" magazine.

Here's the December page:

It never fails to amaze me how Jack Davis could do spot-on caricatures that still look like Jack Davis characters!

And a shout-out to the late Bob McGrath, who passed away at age 90 last month. Rest in peace.

Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day!

Merry Christmas!

 

Whole Lotta Shakin'!

Here's another fun Scrooge cartoon:

No way pre-reformed Scrooge could ever guess!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Not Really Him!

Also from the "I Don't Know Much About This One" file...

It's some sort of pamphlet, as there's a back as well:

But I don't know what was inside...

And I don't know when it's from...

But I do know that (despite the "A Christmas Carol" designation) it's not really Scrooge...

Fun, though!

So Not Sure!

From the "I Don't Know Much About This One" department, here's an interesting illustration with an emphasis on the "Ghost Story":

Also not sure* if it's an actual book cover or just a print!

*not sure bring a euphemism for no clue !

Role Model?

Here's another fun comic panel:

Hopefully reformed Scrooge re-read the book!

Clever!

 Not sure of the artist or source of this one:

But very clever!

A Puzzlement!

Here's the image from a jigsaw puzzle released by Professor Puzzle:

I like it, but the first thing that strikes me is that this scene isn't really in the book.

Fair enough, but the website has this blurb:

Just one title in our Jigsaw Library, this 252-piece double-sided puzzle features a beautiful illustration from an iconic scene on one side, with an extract from the book on the other, making it the perfect gift for book lovers and puzzlers alike.

Iconic scene? Hmmm...

Interesting!

This is kind of interesting:

As one can see, this illustration by Wesley Bedrosian for a 2014 "Boston Globe" story places the Ghost of Christmas Present (along with Ignorance and Want) in a contemporary Yuletide scene.

The idea is that some conditions hadn't changed as much since "A Christmas Carol" was published than one would think.

A Relic!

Here's another fun Topps card:

It's a spoof of the cards in which you get a "relic" as in a piece of a game-worn uniform or such.

The back of the card does have a disclaimer in case anyone thinks that Scrooge was a real person and this is an actual piece of his sleeping cap:

Good to know!

Garbage!

Not quite my thing, but still kind of fun:

And there's a variation:

The Garbage Pail Kids came a bit after my time, but I can see kids liking them.

Wacky!

This is really fun:

I loved Wacky Packages when I was a kid and still like to check out the newer ones!

McDuck. Scrooge McDuck!

This is cool:

This was painted by Joan Vizcarra, who is very skilled at caricatures and such. His works go for big bucks!

I'll use this as a cross-promotion to mention the Bondathin going on at my other blog Wheezer's Warehouse. Check it out!