Etchings Revisited

These fine old etchings have long been appreciated for their craftsmanship but, observes cartoonist Shel Silverstein, they have never been fully understood: viewers have never really known what was going on in the pictures, what these characters of another time and place had on their minds and were saying to one another. Now for the first time, however, the true meaning of each of the scenes becomes clear with the assistance of suitable captions placed under them by Mr. Silverstein after a long, near-monastic period of careful study and arduous analysis. As a result, these works of art can be enjoyed in a way never before possible.

"OK, Mary, now lift up the rope and over they go on their fannies!"

"And now, Lou, you come in with, 'Sha-boom, sha-boom, ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta ...' "

"I don't know, Marty ... what do you want to do?"

"I hate Canasta ... I never play Canasta!"

"Fred? ... Al? ... Charlie? ... Bob?"

"Get your hands off me, buster--I'm as sober as you are!"

"So now, after I buy the armor ... after I rent a horse ... after my going-away party ... now they tell me I'm 4-F!"