Button 228: Grasshopper & Ant: Harvey Kurtzman (Grasshopper)

228. The Grasshopper and The Ant: Harvey Kurtzman (2001).

This lost Kurtzman classic was the first book from the new Denis Kitchen Publishing Company. Button #228 features the irresponsible but philosophical bongo-playing Grasshopper from Kurtzman's beatnik update of the ancient Æsop fable. (See button #229 for the Ant counterpart.) Created in 1960 in full color for Esquire magazine, the marvelous parody was not seen again for over 40 years. This G&A button (or #229 or #230) is free when you order a wonderful copy of The Grasshopper and The Ant from this web store. Otherwise it sets you back a buck.

1.25 inch diameter. $1.00

Numbering note: Denis Kitchen formed a new small publishing company and art and literary agencies in 1999 and, in 2001, resumed making promotional buttons for various properties and projects as well as regional souvenirs and special events. He continued the numbering system established earlier (which ended at # 214), but started with No. 228 to finally get the overall sequence correct (see the more extensive numbering explanation at the start of this web site button list). This approach explains why there are no buttons officially numbered 215 through 227, though are 227 distinct earlier buttons.

One note, for serious button collectors, you may want to read the KSP BUTTON TEXT which explains the numbering systems for identifying the various buttons produced over the last 30 years, or see the COMPLETE KSP BUTTON LIST. The list is VERY long, so be patient while it loads.