The New Yorker Book of Money Cartoons
Freud saw money primarily as a fecal symbol: something to hoarded, treasured, and counted. That probably says more about Freud and the times he lived in than money. A more modern and accurate interpretation of money would be as a symbol of fertility and potency. So perhaps it is no coincidence that until the arrival of Tina Brown in 1992,The New Yorkernever ran cartoons about sex. On the other hand, an astonishing 25 per cent of the 13,000 cartoons it has run since 1986 have been about money.In his introduction toThe New Yorker Book of Money Cartoons, Christopher Buckley, editor ofForbes FYImagazine, calls the cartoonists' obsession with business and money as a "sublimation" of this forbidden subject. One cartoon even shows two New Yorkers walking the streets surrounded by signs for money on the shops, billboards, buildings, vendors' umbrellas, and cars. "Remember a few years ago when everything was sex, sex, sex?" says one to the other. Another shows a couple standing at the entrance to a sumptuous living room. "See," says the man, "isn't this better than being happy?"Of course American culture in general, and New York life in particular, has always been obsessed with money as an index of success, while other, older cultures such as the U.K. at least have a class system to fall back on. Nonetheless, this charming and relevant collection of cartoons will ring bells with anyone who has ever striven in the world of mammon. It's not so much the sort of book you would buy yourself, but it would be a real pleasure to give and to receive.--Alex Benady