“On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog” is a saying and internet meme, first published by “The New Yorker” on July 5, 1993, which is widely recognized for capturing the essence of internet anonymity and its liberation from popular information. The original artwork is now for sale.
The original artwork for this piece was the title of a cartoon drawn by Peter Steiner. Since then, reprint rights alone have earned Steiner over $250,000. This artwork is set to be auctioned by Heritage Auctions on October 6, 2023, and this process is expected to significantly increase that figure. Heritage Auctions estimates that the cartoon will sell for between $40,000 and $60,000.
The current auction record for a single cartoon artwork is a Tintin illustration by Hergé, which sold for $3.84 million in 2021.
Bob Mankoff, who was the cartoon editor at “The New Yorker” at the time, said, “This cartoon caught our attention because we were cautious about anything that could be made by anyone with basic HTML knowledge.”
Considering the timing of this cartoon’s appearance and the use of the word “Internet” in 1993, many believe that this is the point at which the term entered people’s lives, even though people were still using AOL and dial-up modems to wait for hours to transmit and download single images. Nevertheless, the internet remained elusive to some. In fact, just a year after the cartoon was published, Bryant Gumbel still asked his “Today Show” colleagues, “What is the internet?”
Bill Gates first reprinted this cartoon in his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” paying a reprint fee of $200. Another significant milestone on its path to global recognition occurred on February 29, 2012, when Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg projected this cartoon behind her as she announced the opening of advertising opportunities to marketers on the social network. At that time, the social network had 1 million users, marking a significant step in the company’s initial public offering of stock.
Related:
Disclaimer: This article is created by the original author. The content of the article represents their personal opinions. Our reposting is for sharing and discussion purposes only and does not imply our endorsement or agreement. If you have any objections, please contact us through the provided channels.
