Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/630954
MTD January 2016 Facts section: then and now Historical and hysterical: our cartoonist, George Booth By Lori L. Mavrigian W hether you're guiltily gufawing at an episode of 'South Park' or quietly giggling at the latest New Yorker cartoon, laughing does you good. Laughter is a great form of stress relief, and that's no joke," says the Mayo Clinic. Laughter increases the endorphins that are released by your brain, activates and relieves your stress response and soothes tension, according to the health organization. So we hope you get a chuckle out of the cartoon on our cover commemorating the 50th anniversary of our Facts Issue. It is appropriate that we turned to cartoonist George Booth to create this cover. Booth is famous for the cover illustrations he did for Te New Yorker magazine. However, he was hired in 1959 as corporate art director for Bill Brothers in New York City, the company that owned MTD in those days. He worked for us until 1968, lef to freelance full-time and sold his frst cartoon to Te New Yorker in 1969. (Want a good laugh? Check out his books, among them "About Dogs," "Tink Good Toughts about a Pussycat" and "Omnibooth: Te Best of George Booth.") His freelance work for Modern Tire Dealer continued over the years and included covers and inside art to illustrate the important topics of the day such as tire labeling, tire grading, tire registration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations and so on. "I loved working for MTD," Booth told us. "It is a terrifc company, and I was grateful for the experience." You will see some of his earlier car- toons reprinted on the following pages and throughout the issue. All ofer a litle stress relief from the heavy issues confronting those in the tire industry. It just goes to show you, it doesn't mater if it's 1966 or 2016, laughter is still the best medicine! ■ George Booth gained fame illustrating the covers of The New Yorker magazine. His cartoons often feature befuddled men, crazed cats and fat dogs. i l t o t h r A l l 32