Andy as I Knew Him

This book also delightfully shows his sense of humor back in the 1926-1934 era when his cartoons were published in the New Yorker whose staff has generously provided Mr. Ruckstuhl with copies of his early work for them. Additionally, the book contains a series of never-published ditties or doggerels superimposed on typical Anderson cartoonism. The content is typical of the art deco era and carries with it naughty connotations of a society not yet immersed in problematical behavior. In contrast to this lighter side of life, the chapter containing his poetry and sketches of trees and Long Island expanses is indeed emotional. These 47 short verses were writtem for Mr. Ruckstuhl's mother each morning and were put on her breakfast tray daily during her remainng weeks. The short poems, in a most heart rending way, combine Andy's intense love for his wife, Madeleine, and simultaneously portray the dying flora of the past summer. The ebb of nature and failing human life combine profoundly in the melancholy domain of his pen.