by Art Chantry:
artchantry.com
and this is (of course) the greatest of the greats, virgil finlay. i saw this cover and HAD to own it. it’s spectacular! finlay is another one of those 20th century artists who should be listed high on the list of best illustrators of all time. but, he was paid crap and his images used on two-bit pulp mags like this (literally two bits). they were called ‘pulp’ magazines because they were printed on the cheapest wood fiber pulp paper imaginable. most of the these things (if they survived the trash can) are literally turning into dust as they sit because of all the acid in the wood pulp paper fibers. so, most of finlay’s work is vanishing into dust. the originals? almost all of them were simply thrown in the garbage once the magazine was published. the only samples that survived are those that were saved for some odd reason (a presentation or something). very few of his originals exist. the ones i’ve seen are so incredible that you realize how poorly these images were actually reproduced.
---a librarian stamp? but, it's actually printed (by the publisher) on every single copy of this i've ever seen. so, it meant the publisher was "warning" librarians about this issuer? maybe i'd better sit down and read it. sounds naughty!!---AC
( above ) … how about this’n? never mind the vaguely homoerotic aspects of this image, or the contrast between the blueprint mechanical men versus the all organic human male, or even the really gorgeous anatomy study by ‘alejandro’ (who?). the thing i absolutely LOVE about this cover design is that little word placed down in the lower right hand corner (in ALL CAPS.) it simply sez, “INAPPROPRIATE”. what the fuck is that about?
Artchantry.com
while we’re at it, here’s a beautiful cover by hannes bok – one of the great lost illustrators of the 20th century. this ‘pulp’ artwork paid so badly and was treated as such crap that virtually ALL of hannes bok’s paintings and drawings have been destroyed. the publishers simply tossed them in the trash. so few of book’s images survive that (i think i read) only a dozen or so are known to exist. he probably starved to death,too. brilliant stuff. this is for a young robert bloch’s sort called “hell’s angel.” this was written after the movie was before the motorcycle club.
artchantry.com
COMMENTS
