David Edward Byrd (1941-2025) was a major American graphic
artist, designer, illustrator and painter, noted primarily for his
numerous and extremely influential rock-n-roll posters, Broadway theater
posters, and magazine covers and spreads. But he also produced, surprise
surprise, paperback book covers. Some very good ones too in my opinion.
Here's a small sampling of the ones he did for Avon, representing
mystery author Dorothy L. Sayers:
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1979, 7th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'Murder was hardly the best way for Lord Peter Wimsey and his bride, the famous mystery writer Harriet Vane, to start their honeymoon. It all began when the former owner of their newly acquired estate was found quite nastily dead in the cellar. And what Lord Peter had hoped would be a very private and romantic stay in the country soon turned into a most baffling case, what with the misspelled "notise" to the milkman and the intriguing condition of the deadman-- not a spot of blood on his smashed skull and not a pence less than 600 pounds in his pocket.'
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1979, 11th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'Rustic old Riddlesdale Lodge was a Wimsey family retreat filled with country pleasures and the thrill of the hunt-- until the game turned up human and quite dead. He lay among the chrysanthemums, wore slippers and a dinner jacket, and was Lord Peter's brother-in-law-to-be. His accused murder was Wimsey's own brother, and if murder set all in the family wasn't enough to boggle the unflappable Lord Wimsey, perhaps a few twists of fate would be... a mysterious, vanishing midnight letter from Egypt... a grieving fiancee with suitcase in hand... and a bullet destined for one, very special Wimsey.'
The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1980, 11th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'The grotesquely grinning corpse in the Devonshire shack had died horribly-- with a dish of mushrooms at his side. It contained enough death-dealing muscarine to kill thiry persons. Why would an expert on fungi feast on a large quantity of the particularly poisonous species? The answer was hidden in a series of letters and documents that no one seemed to care about, except the dead man's son... and a killer.'
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1980, 12th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'The body was on the pointed rocks alongside the stream. The artist might have fallen from the cliff where he was painting, but there were too many suspicious elements-- particularly the medical evidence that proved he'd been dead nearly half a day, though eyewitnesses saw him alive a scant hour earlier. And then there were the sic prime suspects-- all of them artists, all of them wished him dead. Five were red herrings, but one had created a masterpiece of murder that baffled everyone, including Lord Peter Wimsey.'
Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1985, 10th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'Have his Carcase if you would; Harriet Vane wouldn't. A detective writer herself, she did not care to become involved with the body on the beach, even though she was escaping an unhappy love affair. But from the moment she photographed the corpse, which soon disappeared with the tide, she was puzzled by a mystery that might have been suicide, murder, or a political plot. With the appearance of her dear friend, the incredible Lord Peter Wimsey, she found a reason for detective pursuit-- as only the two could pursue it.'
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1980, 11th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'When adman Victor Dean falls down the stairs in the offices of Pym's Publicity, a respectable London advertising agency, it looks like an accident. Then Lord Peter Wimsey is called in and soon discovers that there's more to copy-writing than meets the eye. A bit of cocaine, a hint of blackmail, and some wanton women can be read between the lines. And then there is the brutal succession of murders, five of them, each one a fixed fee for advertising a deadly secret.'
Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1980, 9th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'Mystery novelist Harriet Vane knew all about poisons, and when her fiance died in a manner prescribed in one of her books, a jury of her peers had a hangman's noose in mind. But Lord Peter Wimsey was determined to fine her innocent-- as determined as was to make her his wife.'
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1980, 9th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'Ninety-year-old General Fentiman was definitely dead, but no one knew exactly when he died. The time of death was the determining factor in a half million pound inheritance. And Lord Peter Wimsey would need every bit of his amazing skills to unravel the mysteries of: why the General's lapel was without a red poppy on Armistice Day, how the club's telephone was fixed without a repairman, and most puzzling of all, why the great man's knee swung freely when the rest of him was stiff with rigor mortis.'
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (Avon, 1980, 10th, cover art David Edward Byrd). 'The
unidentified body in the bathtub wore only a pince-nez and was
unabashedly dead. Whose body: Indeed, it was difficult to say. There was
a prominent financier missing, but it was not the kind of body a
financier would have. What's more, the face appeared to have been shaved
after death. Enter Lord Peter Wimsey, that charming man-about-town,
who, in his first murder case, untangles the ghastly mystery of the
corpse in the bath.'
[© March, 2026, Jeffersen]
