The New Yorker’s founder, Harold W. Ross, hired Thurber initially as the managing editor to make sure the magazine got out on time. He was puzzled by Thurber’s cartoons, but realized they had a quality that others could appreciate perhaps more than he could. Note the stance on the man in this cartoon. Probably by accident, Thurber conveys that the man has had a bit too much to drink. ...Thurber’s obvious limitations irritated some readers and even other cartoonists. A cartoonist once wrote a letter to Harold Ross asking, “Why do you reject drawings of mine, and print stuff by that fifth-rate artist Thurber?” “Third-rate,” Ross replied. [https://jimsworldandwelcometoit.com/2012/12/07/thurbers-cartoons/]