Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗

$65.00
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗
Slightly Underwritten by Thomas L. Stix (1951 First Edition) - Mid-Century Insurance Cartoon Collection 📜💰🚗

This volume is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing of Slightly Underwritten: A Collection of Cartoons about Insurance, published in 1951 by Simon and Schuster. This book is a unique artifact of mid-century American consumer and business culture, edited by Thomas L. Stix and Thomas L. Stix, Jr..

The book's collectible value is secured by its definitive "FIRST PRINTING" status and its highly specific, niche subject matter—the insurance industry. The volume provides a witty, visual commentary on a key pillar of the post-WWII American economy.

 

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

 

Slightly Underwritten is a collection of cartoons and humorous essays designed to satirize the insurance industry, consumers, and agents. The content draws its humor from the consumer's hope "that he can beat the company" and the endless, confusing nature of premiums and policies.

The illustrations are mid-century modern line drawings. One cartoon shows an agent at a door asking, "Good morning, Mrs. Wilgus. Is the lapsed policy at home?", illustrating the direct, often intrusive nature of insurance sales. The book makes a bold economic statement, asserting that according to Mr. Elmo Roper, "insurance was the largest business in the country" in 1951.

 

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

 

The book was edited by Thomas L. Stix and his son, Thomas L. Stix, Jr.. While the book is a curated collection of cartoons from various artists, the Stix family's role as editors establishes the work's critical perspective.

The book represents a fascinating intersection of humor and business commentary. The original cartoons were sourced from major publications like The New Yorker Magazine and The Weekly Underwriter, confirming the high quality of the artistic contributions. The editors' contribution is the framing and selection, turning the individual cartoons into a cohesive social critique of post-war capitalism and the consumer's complicated relationship with risk.

 

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

 

This book was published in 1951, at the height of the Cold War and the American post-war economic boom. This period saw a massive expansion of the middle class, home ownership, and car ownership, all of which required insurance.

The novel is an immediate response to this financial growth, where insurance transitioned from a specialized necessity to an ubiquitous mainstay of the American consumer economy. The book provides a commentary on the Kefauver Committee, which was active at the time, demonstrating the book’s timely social relevance. This volume is a time capsule that captures the humor and social anxieties of a generation newly defined by consumer debt and a complex web of financial risk management.

 

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

 

This volume is tailored for a Curator of Mid-Century Modern Design and Humor and a Scholar of Post-War American Business History. The Ideal Collector seeks artifacts that document the evolution of American consumer culture and economics.

The book belongs in a collection that focuses on Simon and Schuster First Editions, The New Yorker art, or 1950s Americana. Its clean, minimalist aesthetic and its unique, specific content make it an engaging and visually appealing piece of mid-century history.

 

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

 

This book is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing from 1951, making it 74 years old. Its rarity is moderate, based on the low print run typical of niche humor/cartoon collections.

The value is secured by its high Content Scarcity—its focus on the insurance industry—and its First Printing status. The aesthetic is clean, but the lack of a dust jacket mandates a mandatory deduction. The volume is a strong acquisition for a collector seeking a clean, period-specific First Edition with a unique intellectual focus.

 

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

 

This is an authenticated First Edition hardcover lacking the original dust jacket. The binding is a light gray/green cloth with red and gold stamping.

  • Positive Qualities:

    • The binding is tight and square, providing excellent structural integrity.

    • The light gray cloth boards are clean and retain their original color.

    • The interior pages and illustrations are clean, free of markings or foxing.

    • The "FIRST PRINTING" statement is clearly legible on the copyright page.

  • Imperfections:

    • The spine shows light fading and sunning.

    • The boards and edges exhibit minimal shelf wear, typical for a book of this age.

    • The absence of the original dust jacket mandates a significant deduction.

 

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

 

  • The book’s core argument, quoting Elmo Roper, states that insurance was the largest business in the country, with food second and gambling third.

  • The editors joke that the insurance business "goes on forever" because while food will spoil and political committees will go out of existence, insurance does not.

  • Cartoons for the collection were sourced from a variety of contemporary American publications, including The New Yorker Magazine.

  • One illustration features a company named "Pilgrim Accident Insurance Co." whose door advises clients to "WALK IN CAREFULLY".

 

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

 

  • Title: Slightly Underwritten: A Collection of Cartoons about Insurance

  • Author/Editor: Thomas L. Stix and Thomas L. Stix, Jr.

  • Year of Publication: 1951

  • Publisher: Simon and Schuster

  • Place of Origin: New York, Manufactured in the United States of America

  • Format/Binding: Hardcover, Light Gray/Green Cloth Boards

  • Edition: First Edition, First Printing

  • Rarity: Moderate Scarcity (Niche First Edition)

  • Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking: None

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