184

William T. Peters, artist.

The College Experience of Ichabod Academicus.

No place, circa 1850
48 lithographed cartoon plates, plus 4 duplicates bound in. 6 leaves of text, including section headers for the four years of college. Oblong 8vo, stitched, lacking wrappers; lacking upper corner of title page with partial loss of two letters, moderate foxing, one plate detached and another slightly defective; uncut.

An early American comic book or graphic novel about college life at Yale, one of the first comic books in America. It came after "The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck" (first separately published in 1847, but adapted from a French work) and the purely American "Journey to the Gold Diggins" (first advertised in June 1849), but precedes "The Fortunes of Ferdinand Flipper" (1851) and "Adventures of Mr. Tom Plump" (circa 1855).

Our hero is shown being hazed as a freshman, playing football (i.e. rugby) and baseball, being inducted into a secret society by a skeleton, entering a failed courtship, brawling with townies, and finally speaking at Commencement. The story was by Hugh Florien Peters (Yale 1849) and Garrick Mallery (Yale 1850), in the spirit of Cruikshank. 

We find the earliest newspaper references to Ichabod Academicus in the Boston Evening Transcript of 14 January 1850. It was published just 6 years after the earliest known reference to baseball at Yale (discovered in the diary of James Brinsmade sold at Swann in 2010). 

This copy has 4 duplicate plates and one duplicate text leaf, bound consecutively: "Engages in the match between Sophs & Fresh" (the baseball image); "Returns Home a Lion"; "He Feels Himself a Soph"; and "Succeeds in a Second Trial at Smoking," plus the "Sophomore Year" section title leaf. 58 leaves are present here; it appears to be complete with 48 plates plus the duplicates and text leaves. OCLC calls for 53 leaves in total; other examples at auction have advertised 44, 46 or 48 plates.  

  • Condition: Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Upon request, Swann will facilitate the shipping of purchases to out-of-town buyers at an additional charge for packing, shipping and insurance, but will not be responsible for any loss, damage or delay resulting from the packing, handling and shipping thereof. Unless specific instructions are received, Swann is the sole judge of the method to be used for shipment. Packing and shipping costs will be noted on the invoice mailed to successful bidders after the sale, and are based on the actual costs involved. Be advised that a full commercial invoice must accompany any purchase shipped outside the US.

Swann Auction Galleries

You agree to pay a buyer’s premium, as outlined below, and any applicable taxes and shipping.
Buyer's Premium
$0 - $100,000:
27.00%
$100,001 - $1,000,000:
22.00%
$1,000,001+:
12.00%

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $149 $10
$150 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $5,999 $200
$6,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 $499,999 $20,000
$500,000 + $50,000