Member Since November 2004
2748 Artworks | Watched by 264

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1907 Winsor McCay

Location: Winsor McCay
Artist: Winsor McCay (All)

Location: Winsor McCay
Title: Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1907 Winsor McCay
Artist: Winsor McCay (All)
Media Type: Pen and Ink
Art Type: Comic Strip
For Sale Status: NFS
Views: 742
Likes on CAF: 4
Comments: 14
Added to Site: 6/6/2019

I am very pleased to add this 112 year old piece to my collection. I have been fortunate to own a nice McCay unpublished piece for a number of years but always wanted to add a Sammy Sneeze of Rarebit Fiend to my collection. This has been a very active goal in the past 2 years and I finally was offered this one that was buried in a collection for years. It comes to me in excellent condition on art board that looks closer to 40 years old rather than over 100. The line work is beautiful and delicate as is my experience with other works by McCay. I have had chances in the past to add a few but always passed as sometimes the content can be a little dull or confusing. This one was fun and quite animated and I like the theme of frustration with technology which is as relevant today as it was over a century ago. When it rains, it pours. Soon after purchasing this strip, another Rarebit Fiend I had been hoping to procure became available and so I will be adding a second one to my collection in a few months time.

The reoccurring theme in this series is the wild dreams people have after having ingested rarebit(innocuous Welsh dish with cheese, toast and ale) and it always end with the dream spiraling out of control only for them to wake up and swear off ever eating rarebit again. The dreams were often quite dark and in contrast to those he would later give to Little Nemo. The strips were not meant to be humerus but to reveal the dark side and insecurities of the upper middle class and acted as social commentary. The feature started in 1904 and ran until 1911 and appeared as frequently as 3-4 times per week. From 1911-1913 it reappeared with slightly different titles and there was a revival of the strip in 1923-25 by McCay with help from his son. Little Nemo's first appeared in this strip in 1905 before going on to have his own strip.

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Member Since: November 2004
Last Login: April 2026
Website: http://www.art4comics.com
Country: CANADA
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Jason K Member Since 2018

Posted On 6/6/2019

Wow! Congratulations, Jeff.

Thomas Ward Member Since 2004

Posted On 6/6/2019

Major congrats on obtaining this Jeff, what a wonderful piece!

CIRO SCOGNAMIGLIO Member Since 2009

Posted On 6/6/2019

Museum piece! A dream for me!

Duke Fleed Member Since 2013

Posted On 6/6/2019

Huge Congrats! Love the ink work.

Rob Pistella Member Since 2005
Forum Moderator

Posted On 6/6/2019

Sublime and timeless art Jeff, wonderful pick up!!!

Bill J Member Since 2009

Posted On 6/6/2019

McCay is awesome! Great piece!

Ruben DaCollector Member Since 2008

Posted On 6/6/2019

It may pour when it rains, but I don't know if your next one will top this one. The bit with technology, which evokes very recent memories of myself as I try to navigate through many company's automated phone message prompts systems, is absolutely as current today as it was back then, even moreso! Every subsequent panel had my grin growing larger and larger as I waited for him to smash the %!$@ out of the phone! Congrats on finally landing one!

Monty B Member Since 2006

Posted On 6/6/2019

Really a wonderful Rarebit Fiend...congrats Jeff!!!

Jeff Gorrell Member Since 2017

Posted On 6/6/2019

Wonderful!

Ben Friedman Member Since 2006

Posted On 6/6/2019

So awesome. Crazy McCay goodness.

frank x townsondecker Member Since 2006

Posted On 6/7/2019

Excellent!!!

DC's Showcase Member Since 2006

Posted On 6/8/2019

Fantastic example, Jeff!

Ron S Member Since 2007

Posted On 6/9/2019

Wonderful example!

Deene Kingston Member Since 2023

Posted On 1/8/2023

A lovely example of McCay. Looking at this it just seems almost 'inevitable' that he should have invented animation. His sense of motion was just so good.

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Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1907 Winsor McCay

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Jeff Singh ( 8 )

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