Carmel-by-the-Bates by Bill Bates, Signed 

1988 copy of Carmel-by-the-Bates "How come you never came to see me when I lived in Torrence?"

Carmel is a funny place. Its residents closely guard the village's artistic character from outsiders as these same outsiders stream into Carmel to admire the village's artistic character.
Detailed caricatures of thatched-roof homes, streets paved around tall pines, and tiny shops in hidden courtyards provide a backdrop for a gallery of characters that seem riotously familiar: The proverbial little old lady and man on a determined march to the post office; tourists armed with cameras and sunglasses; and hipsters seeking nirvana.
They strike a penetrating chord. Bill Bates' cartoons are not only funny, they are pointed commentary on a city like no other; where small-town provincialism and big-city culture meet and sometimes clash. Bill Bates' cartoons portray the very essence of Carmel as it was then and as it is today. 

Softcover

Author: Bill Bates 

Edition & Year: 1988 

Signed copy, good vintage condition with wear to the edges and sun fading on over