LIVE AND LET KISS

February brings us all Valentine's Day, and that means the possibility of romance, and hopefully, a kiss.

I'll never forget my first romantic kiss. I was fourteen, and a friend and I went to see a movie at the Brentwood 4, a multiplex theater that had recently opened in a nearby shopping center. In the lobby we started chatting with a pair of girls we recognized from school, but didn't know, and then found ourselves sitting with them when the movie started.

About halfway through the girl who was next to me leaned over and gave me the most wonderful kiss of my then young life. Wow! Afterward, my friend couldn't get over his amazement at my good fortune. And neither could I.

The girl was the only child of a single mom, and we sorta dated after that, which consisted mostly of me going to her house when her mom was at work. She did not want her mom to know she was seeing a boy, although for all our intentions we stayed mostly innocent in our relationship, which, sadly for me, didn't last very long. After a couple of months she and her mom moved out of state, and that was that. I never saw or heard from her again.

So, in remembrance of that first kiss, and of course the many wonderful kisses my wife has graced me with since before and after we were married, here's a collection of book covers and magazine illustrations that showcase the very same thing, but by purely fictional characters of course.

An gouache and pastel illustration by Frank Graham Cootes for (or possibly the cover of) a 1907 issue of Pictorial Review magazine.  Cootes (1879-1960) was a popular American illustrator and portraitist during the first half of the twentieth century. He was educated at the University of Virginia and studied art at the New York School of Art (now the Parson New School for Design). In 1906 he opened a Manhattan studio and began illustrating best-selling books and high-profile magazines. He also taught art and design and painted the official White House portrait of Woodrow Wilson.

The Place of Honeymoons by Harold MacGrath (Bobbs, Merrill, 1912). MacGrath's novel was the basis for the 1920 Keanen Buel film of the same name, which starred Emily Stevens and Frankie Mann. The jacket art was produced by Arthur Ignatius Keller (1867-1924).  Keller was an award winning oil and watercolor painter and illustrator. He was trained at the National Academy of Design in New York and in Munich, Germany. During his celebrated career he produced hundreds of illustrations for both magazines and books, among them works by Washington Irving, Charles Dickens, Brett Harte and Owen Wister. 

La Vie Parisienne magazine (1918). 

La Vie Parisienne magazine (1931).

Both of these interior illustrations are by Frenchman Georges Leonnec (1881-1940). Leonnec's father Paul was also an illustrator and a French Naval Officer, and his brother a Felix was a novelist. Although Georges Leonnnec produced artwork for advertising and many other publications, La Vie Parisienne is what he is most widely known for.

Judge magazine (April 1920). Cover art by Emmett Watson (1893-1955).  Watson studied at the Art Students League and at the Grand Central School of Art in New York. He produced cover art and illustrations for a variety of popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Life, and Judge, but also for book jackets and pulp magazines.

Film Fun magazine (June, 1922). Cover art by John Held, Jr. (1889-1958).  Held was an American cartoonist, printmaker, illustrator, sculptor and author, and one of the most distinctive and best-known magazine illustrators of the 1920s. Largely self-taught with a completely unorthodox style, Held also produced covers and interior illustrations for books, including children's books. 

This is a painting by Ralph Pallen Coleman for an unknown magazine in 1922.  Coleman (1892-1968) was an American painter and illustrator who was also a lifelong Philadelphian. He received his formal education at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art, now called the University of Arts. He produced artwork for all of the major magazines of the era which also included pulps, cranking out over a hundred illustrations a year during the 1920s. In his later years he began produced religious imagery for a variety of clients. His most widely distributed religious piece, "The Eternal Christ," was painted in 1942 and sold several million printed copies to both civilians and WWII serviceman.

Ziff's Magazine (September, 1925). Cover art by Carl Link (1887-1968).  Link was a German-American artist, commercial illustrator and art educator who specialized in paintings of dance and theatrical personalities. Among his many magazine clients were Dance, Theatre and of course Ziff's.

An illustration by Georges Pavis for La Boheme Art Quarterly magazine (1927).  Pavis (1886-1951) was born in Paris and educated at that city's School of Fine Arts. He became a regular contributor to magazines such as Le Rire, Le Sourire and Le Journal, and La Vie Parisienne. He also illustrated books by Roland Dorgeles and Victor Hugo. 

Judge magazine (November, 1928). Cover art by Ralph Briggs Fuller (1890-1963).  Fuller was an American cartoonist best known for his long-running comic strip Oaky Doaks, featuring the humorous adventures of a knight in the Middle Ages. Fuller was 16 when he sold his first cartoon to Life magazine for $8 (an enormous sum of money at the time). However, in the following mail, he received a letter from them requesting the return of the $8 because they had previously used that gag (duh on them!). Fuller sent the money back of course, and that helped pave the way for future commissions and an eventual full-time gig at the Chicago Daily News. It always pays to be honest! Fuller, in addition to his prolific cartoon work for literally dozens of magazines, was an accomplished watercolor artist and a member of the Leonia, New Jersey, art colony.

An illustration by James Montgomery Flagg for an unknown story in the January, 1930 issue of College Humor magazine.  Flagg (1877-1960) trained at several art schools including the Art Students League in NYC. Although a prolific contributor to the leading magazines of the time and jacket art on books, he is best known for his iconic WWI recruiting poster "I Want You for U.S. Army," for which he was the actual model of. Flagg was also a skilled portraitist who was constantly in demand.  The caption at the right reads: ' "I'm not crazy or anything, but all of a sudden I did want my first college kiss to from Bryan Stinson, and out on the campus." The kiss was hers-- hers to him, authentic and explicit.' 

The Passionate Angel by Ferrin L. Fraser (Sears Publishing, 1930, jacket art not credited).  Author Ferrin Fraser (1903-1969) was an American radio scriptwriter and short story author who collaborated with Frank Buck on radio scripts and five books. His first successful work for radio was "A Piece of String," adapted from a Guy de Maupassant short story. It premiered on May 28, 1933. On his own Fraser wrote more than 500 short stories for magazines, and four novels, while also collaborating with his wife, musician and composer Beatrice Fraser, on numerous books for children.

An illustration by Leo Fontan for a 1931 issued of La Vie Parisienne magazine.  Fontan (1884-11965) was a French painter, illustrator and Art Deco designer. He studied art in both Tours and Paris. He was a regular contributor to La Vie Parisienne and Le Sourire but he also produced the cover art for all of Arsene Lupin's first novels.

Love Madness by Claire Pomeroy (Grosset & Dunlap, 1932). The jacket art was produced by Mach Tey, who real name was Nathan Machtey (1907-1986).  While in high school, Machtey won a $10 art contest prize, which became a huge incentive to his art aspirations. Then, after completing a three year commercial art course at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1927, Machtey began producing jacket art for Grosset & Dunlap, representing authors such as Earl Derr Biggers, Mary Shelley, H. C. McNeile, H. G. Wells and Edgar Allen Poe (as for author Claire Pomeroy, virtually nothing is known about her). Machtey also produced movie posters and artwork for popular magazines and pulps beginning in the 1930s and lasting into the 1950s.

Gentlemen of the North by Hugh Pendexter (reprint edition, Literary Press, 1935, jacket art not credited).  Pendexter (1875-1940) was an American journalist, novelist, short story writer, humorist and screenwriter, who lived most of his life in Norway, Maine. He was known for his detailed research when penning historical and western fiction.

Gipsy Love by Richard Starr (Herbert Jenkins, London, 1940, jacket art not credited).  

'Beneath her atrocious make-up Gipsy Mara had true beauty; behind her musical slang and untaught crudeness Michael Clavering discerned the existence of intelligence and character. Seated beside him in the stalls of a provincial theatre she made a startling request of her neighbour, and in consequence of this, the distinguished Mr. Clavering embarked on a strange social experiment which forms the backcloth of this unusual and cleverly contrived love story.  Richard Starr, whose numerous romances are far-famed, has rarely written with greater inspiration. His colourful gipsy characters, such as the wily old Torlonia and the dashing Perico, have an appeal which is irresistible. Mara, passionate and lovely, is perhaps the most outstanding of his memorable heroines.'

South Sea Stories magazine (October, 1940). Cover art by Stockton Mulford (1886-1960).  Mulford had a rough start in life: at age seven he lost an eye after he was pushed into a protruding window hinge. At age twelve his father died of an aortic aneurysm. Mulford and his mother were then forced to live in a boarding house, where he endured until graduating from high school. In 1907 Mulford enrolled in the Art Students League in NYC. One of his classmates was Georgia O'Keeffe. By 1913 he had begun to sell illustrations on a regular basis to various publications, including The Christian Herald, The New York Herald Tribune, People's Home Journal and Every Week, among others. As his career progressed he began to receive regular commissions from some of the leading magazines of his time too. He had also started producing jacket art and interior illustrations for books, but it is probably his artwork for the pulps for which he is most recognized for today.

 

An 18x18 gouache illustration by Harry Anderson for an unknown magazine, circa 1940s.  Harry Anderson (1906-1996) graduated from the Syracuse University School of Art in 1931. One of his classmates (and one of my all-time favorite illustrators) was Tom Lovell, who also became his good friend. By 1937 Anderson had established himself completely as a commercial illustrator, receiving regular assignments from advertising clients such as American Airlines, Buster Brown Shoes, Coca-Cola, and the Ford Motor Company, among others. He also contributed to most if not all of the popular magazines of his time. In 1945, by special request from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, of which he had become a newly made member, he did his first religious painting. It was titled "What Happened to Your Hand?," and depicted Jesus sitting in a garden with modern-day children. Some parishioners felt it was blasphemous but it was eventually published by the Church (I remember it well from my own youth in a religious pamphlet), and from that point on Anderson split his time between commercial illustrations and religious ones. 

Ladies First by W. H. Lane Crauford (Ward, Lock, London, 1941). Jacket art by Dudley Tennant (1867-1952).  Tennant was born in Hanley, Staffordshire, England, and studied at the Liverpool School of Art. During the early part of the 20th century he was a regular contributor to the Illustrated London News and The Strand. As his career advanced he began to produce artwork for other magazine clients, and eventually jacket art and interior illustrations for books.

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An illustration spread by Al Parker for Naomi Lane Babson's Change of Heart in the January, 1942 issue of Ladies Home Journal magazine.  Alfred Charles Parker (1906-1985) was known as the "Dean of Illustrators." He studied at the Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis, and then won a national competition in the 1930s with a cover illustration for House Beautiful which boosted his career tremendously. He was soon one of the most sought after magazine cover and interior illustrators of his era, and one of the most imitated. He was also noted for working in a variety of styles, themes and media, apparently in order to stay one step ahead of his peers.

An illustration by Al Moore for Nancy Titus's serialized novel Once and for Always, published in the April, 1943 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.  Al Moore (1912-1991) studied at Chicago's Art Institute and Academy of Art, and was primarily a magazine illustrator. Among his many clients were The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and Esquire, where he gained a reputation as a pin-up specialist. He also did advertising work for Coca-Cola. U.S. Rubber, and Nash Automobiles, and during WWII he produced posters for the U.S. government.

Three Days by Stephen Longstreet (Julian Messner, 1943). Jacket art by Paul Laune (1899-1977).  Laune was a prolific illustrator of mostly hardback books, representing authors as diverse as Baroness Orczy, Jefferson Farjeon, Lange Lewis, Fran Striker, James Ramsey Ullman, W. Somerset Maugam and Franklin W. Dixon, among others. He was also a muralist, completing five murals for the Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum in his hometown of Woodward, Oklahoma. 

Stephen Longstreet (1907-2002) was an American novelist and screenplay writer for radio, television and films. He was an artist as well, who at the start of his career produced cartoons and vignettes for magazines such as the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Collier's. Longstreet wrote, ghost-wrote, compiled and edited almost 140 books between 1936 and 1999.

Alimony by Faith Baldwin (Dell 318, 1949). Cover art by William George Jacobson (the original mixed media painting is 13x9 inches). Jacobson (1921-1992), who went by the nickname "Babe" because of his boyish good looks, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the American Academy of Art and at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art. He was a WWII veteran. In 1960 he opened his own studio under his own name. Prior to that, in the 1940s and 50s, he produced paperback covers for Dell and possibly other publishers. His most notable Dell cover was for Errol Flynn's Showdown, of which I was fortunate enough to buy a clean copy of back in the beginning of my vintage paperback collecting phase.  

Faith Baldwin (1893-1978) was a prolific writer of primarily romance fiction. She published more than 85 books, 60 of them novels, two books of poetry, and dozens of short stories and articles. In 1951 she hosted a weekly television anthology program on Saturday afternoons, simply called the Faith Baldwin Romance Theater.

Fandango Carlotta by Robert Briffault (Avon Monthly 13, 1949). Cover art by Ray Johnson. Johnson is known as the "Great Mystery Man" of the vintage paperback cover world because relatively no information exists about him, including his date of birth and date of death. He produced distinctive realist cover art for all of the major paperback houses during the 1940s and 50s. He also produced illustrations for Men's Adventure Magazines (MAMs) as well as cartoon animation, and newspaper and advertising art.

The Chastity of Gloria Boyd by Donald Henderson Clarke (Avon 270, 1950, cover art not credited).  Clarke (1887-1958) was an American writer and journalist, known for his romantic but oftentimes racy novels, mysteries and screenplays. He was born in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and studied at Harvard but was twice dismissed for reasons unknown. It is estimated that he sold over 8 million books in his lifetime. One particular book, Female (1933) was ruled obscene.

For A Night Of Love by Emile Zola (Avon 259, 1950). Cover art by Bill Randall (1911-1995). Randall was an American artist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. He gained recognition for his many calendar pin-ups, but he was also a fairly productive paperback cover artist. The book, Pinups Portraits and Posters, The Life and Art of Bill Randall, goes into much more detail about his career than I was able to uncover in my brief attempt at research. It was independently published in 2022.

Emile Zola (1840-1902) was one of France's leading writers in the late 19th century but was also surrounded by controversy for much of that time because of his liberal politics. At one point he was forced to relocate to England where he resided for many years before returning to Paris. Zola died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 1902, which was apparently caused by an improperly ventilated chimney in his flat. Some folks believe that he was actually murdered instead.

Beach Party by Peggy Gaddis (Venus 104, 1950, cover art not credited). Peggy Gaddis (1895-1966) graduated from Reinhardt College and then worked as a magazine editor before becoming a full time romance novelist. She wrote under a variety of pseudonyms, writing as many as 200 books.

River of the Sun by James Ramsey Ullman (Cardinal C58, 1951). Cover art by Walter Baumhofer (1904-1987). Baumhofer's actual 22x14 inch oil painting is noticeably sharper than Cardinal's paperback reproduction of it. Unfortunately, it would be more than twenty years before the paperback industry was able to improve its printing processes to the point where the cover image nearly matched the original art.

James Ramsey Ullman (1907-1971) was an American writer of fiction and non-fiction and a mountaineer. His most famous work was Banner in the Sky, about the first ascent of the Matterhorn. It was filmed as Third Man on the Mountain, and starred Michael Rennie, James MacArthur and Janet Munro.

As They Reveled by Philip Wylie (Avon 360, 1951, cover art not credited).  Philip Wylie (1902-1971) wrote everything from pulp fiction, science fiction, mysteries, syndicated newspaper columns, articles (with subjects such as biology, ethnology, physics and psychology), screenplays, social diatribe, satire, and speculation on the threat of nuclear holocaust. His most famous work is perhaps When Worlds Collide (1933), written in collaboration with Edwin Balmer. It was made into a successful 1950s scifi film.

 

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This is a 25x25 inch oil on canvas painting by Robert G. Harris for an unknown story in a 1952 issue of McCall's magazine.  Bob Harris (1911-2007) studied at the Kansas City Art Institute before relocating to New York to try his hand at illustrating. His first gigs were for pulp fiction covers and stories but eventually he broke into the slicks, including McCall's and the Saturday Evening Post, and after that he never looked back, becoming in time one of the most highly regarded magazine illustrators of his era.

A Matter of Morals by Joseph Gies (Popular Library 421, 1953). Cover art by Bernard Barton (1920-1993).  Bernard Barton has been confused with the illustrator Harry Barton but the two don't seem to be related. However, both men painted in the realist tradition, with similar career trajectories although there was a 24 year gap in their ages.

'The campus was jammed with beautiful girls. But Not like Evelyn. Evelyn's hair was showgirl blonde, and she was the reason sweaters were invented. Best of all, Evelyn was available. Especially to young professor Victor Townsend. Tall and handsome, he was her Special Project for the term. And whenever luscious Evelyn swayed into the room, the wolf-light gleamed behind victor's glasses and the palms of his hands went moist. The two of them were like dynamite, waiting for the fuse. The fuse was lit the night after the big game--and the explosion rocked Midwestern U. to the rafters!'

The Prodigal Women by Nancy Hale (Perma P199S, 1953, cover art not credited).  Nancy Hale (1908-1988) studied to be an artist at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and at Fenway Studios before turning to journalism and writing as a career choice. In an historic note, in 1934 she became the first woman straight-news reporter for the New York Times. The Prodigal Women, her third published novel, was a best-seller in 1942, but at 700 pages long it also left her emotionally exhausted. Her next novel wouldn't appear for fifteen more years. After that her pen never stopped scratching, and she is credited with 8 novels, 4 short story collections (80 stories in all), 2 memoirs, 2 non-fiction books, 5 children's books and 2 plays.

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An illustration spread by Joe Bowler for Muriel Roy Bolton's Lady In His Life, in the July, 1954 issue of Redbook magazine.  Bowler (1928-2016) published his first illustration for a national magazine when he was just nineteen. Together with his wife and business partner of 58 years, Marilyn, Bowler would become one of the magazine industry's top contributors, followed by years of success as a portrait and fine arts painter.

Science Fiction Stories magazine #2 (June, 1954). Cover by Ed Emshwiller.

Fora 1 by Volkhard S. Ch. Erl aka August Scherl (Pabel Grossband, 1958). Repeated cover art by Ed Emshwiller.   Fora 1 is a SF novel published in digest format by the German author August Scherl, who used the pseudonym Volkhard for his other lone SF novel and short story and six essays--all were published by publisher Pabel in Germany.  

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An illustration by Stan Klimley for an unknown story in the January, 1955 issue McCall's magazine.  Stanley Peter Klimley (1915-2001), whose was born with the ethnic last name of Klimaszewski, was a prominent magazine illustrator who also produced advertising art. His wife, Dorothy Abbott, was also an illustrator.

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A Saturday Evening Post magazine (July 9, 1955) spread by Ernest "Darcy" Chiriaka for Willard Temple's story Marriage Bait.  Chiriaka (1913-2010) was born in New York as Anastassios Kyriakakos, the son of Greek immigrants. Chriaka frequently signed his artwork using the name "Darcy," which has caused some confusion among fans of illustration. He was primarily a magazine illustrator but he also produced dozens of paperback covers. I was offered a chance once to see some of his original paintings that were being held in storage in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but then regrettably passed on it. Duh! 

Dead Game by Michael Avallone (Perma M3012, 1955). Cover art by James Meese (1917-1971).  In his day, Meese's magazine illustrations and paperback covers were some of the most dramatic in the business.

If Wishes Were Hearses by J. Harvey Bond (Ace Double D483, 1961). Cover art by Lou Marchetti (1920-1992).  Marchetti's early paperback covers, like the one above, were very much in keeping with the realism of the 1950s. Eventually though, Marchetti would develop a distinctive look that would set him apart from others. That can be seen with his many "gothic" covers beginning in the mid-1960s and into the 1970s.

Night of Fire and Snow by Alfred Coppel (Crest Book S212, 1958, cover art not credited).

Between Darkness and Day by Gordon Merrick (Ace H287, United Kingdom, 1958, cover art not credited-- it looks to me like this British cover was merely repainted to demonstrate sharper detail. Not sure which of the two covers I prefer-- and I apologize for not being able to place them side by side for better comparison). 

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck (Grosset & Dunlap, 1958). Jacket art by Irv Docktor (1918-2008).  Docktor was an acclaimed illustrator as well as a respected teacher of art (Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts and High School of Art and Design in NYC).  This illustration recreates perfectly my own first romantic kiss in the Brentwood 4 when I was fourteen. I love it all the more for that very reason. 

Love Around the World, edited by Anonymous (Berkley, 1959). Cover art by Robert Maguire (1921-2005).  Maguire was a prolific paperback cover artist from the 1950s to the 1990s, noted especially for his sexy, shapely women.

Sex on Tap by Boris Noderheim (Chariot CB105, 1959). Cover art by Carl Hantman (1933-). In the publishing industry, Hantman is noted almost exclusively for his western paperback covers, which naturally led to a second-half career as a Western Fine Arts painter, so coming across an awesome cover for the low-budget "sleaze" paperback house Chariot was quite a surprise for me. Way to go Carl! 

Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2005) produced this dramatic painting for an unknown story in a 1959 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.  Stan Meltzoff is primarily known for his marine paintings, but he also provided high quality painterly illustrations for magazines, and similar cover art for science fiction and mystery paperbacks.

Court-Martial by Jack Ehrlich (Pyramid G463, 1959). Cover art by Mort Kunstler. Kunstler was an acknowledged "King" of Men's Adventure Magazine art as well as historical illustration, producing so many images over the span of his career that more than one book had to be published to showcase even a small portion of them. Before his passing last year at the age of 93, Kunstler had exhibited in more than 60 one-man shows.

End To Innocence by Robert Carse (Monarch 129, 1959, cover art not credited)

'Frank Purdy, Captain of the cruise ship Carib, had no trouble mastering the sea but he couldn't master his violent appetite for women.  There was MURIEL, his ex-mistress, who could find fulfillment only with Frank... The nympho VIVIAN, his son's high-flying girlfriend, who was willing to divide her time between son and father... Call girl LAUREEN, who was a siren song in his blood... and his passionate wife, LILA, jealous of his women and his love for the sea.  Aggravating the situation was the ship's chief Officer who wanted Frank's job and his women--and who reported Frank's escapades to Steve Williams, the Carib's owner and father of man-hungry Vivian.'

Bond of the Flesh by Rosamond Marshall (WDL, United Kingdom, 1959, cover art not credited--a couple of letters of the artist's signature can be seen on the lower left side).

A Woman A Day by Philip Jose Farmer (Beacon 291, 1960). Cover art by Gerald McConnell (1931-2004).  In his early years McConnell was primarily a paperback cover artist but much later in his career he was noted for creating three-dimensional art. He also taught at the Pratt Institute, and helped initiate copyright protections for fellow illustrators while as a leader of the Graphic Artist Guild.  

'The wickedest man in Paris.... And yet, in that sterile, sex-hating Paris of the 25th century, Barker wore the robe of the purest of them all!  Why? What deadly role was he playing?  For Barker was pitting himself against the power of a dozen mighty empires: The Jacks who froze men rigid! The Marchers who schemed to rule all of them! The Bantus who rewarded kindnesses with orgies!  Above all, though, what was the secret of Ava, his "wife"-- and Halla, the strange woman whose beauty and passion were the product of a fantastic biological triumph from the hidden laboratories of the Cold War Corps?'

Behind Respectable Doors by Carlton Gibbs (Beacon B481F, 1962, cover art not credited).

'Under cover of darkness residents of lovely Bonita Bay were not what they seemed by day. A prim librarian became a nymphomaniac... A mother of two children was secretly pursued by a man with twisted desires... A secretary offered herself to her boss--why?... A real estate agent seduced the mysterious and beautiful tenant of a house he had just rented... A woman who was the model of virtue showed her naked self to an impassioned painter... And a camera caught the wrong man and wife in a guest-room bed...!'

Kiss or Kill by John B. Thompson (Kozy K158, 1962). Cover art and 18x11 gouache alternative cover by Sergio Leone. There is not much information about illustrator Sergio Leone besides the fact that he produced young adult and children's jacket and cover art during the 1960s for publishers such as Grosset & Dunlap, Children's Press, Wonder Books and Weekly Reader. But then, there is his titillating artwork for Kozy Books. Wow!

Kiss or Kill by John B. Thompson (Cutting Edge, 2020 reprint edition, photo cover not credited online).  

 

'KISS OR KILL is a harrowing, seductive, and suspenseful coming-of-age novel about Jack McKnight, a young man terrorized by his evil mother and beaten by his cruel half-brothers from her previous relationship. His mother and step-brothers are furious that Jack's late father willed half of his estate to him, his only biological heir. Their bitterness towards Jack becomes so extreme, that he begins to suspect that they are plotting to murder him...'

The Lolita Lovers by John Clarke (Monarch 250, 1962). Cover art by Rafael DeSoto (1904-1992).  Rafael DeSoto was not only one of the very best pulp cover and interior illustrators of all time, but also one of the best paperback covers artists of all time. This cover proves it beyond any doubt. Wow! 

'You're Vince Russo, warlord of the Playboys, and you've had your warning from the Police: "Don't try to avenge the murder of your brother. And don't start a gang war or we'll come down on you like a ton of bricks."  Suddenly you feel isolated, a stranger to your own mother; and even to your girlfriend, Dolores, and you no longer can get close to her--except in bed.  No one seems to understand that it's all you have to live for: Revenge! No one can see that you need action--bone-cracking, head-splitting action. It's the only time you come alive!  They call you vicious, a juvenile delinquent, but you know better. All you're trying to do is live by the Cod of the Streets, which demands and eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and two murders for one.'

The Marriage Cage by William Johnston (Dell 5410, 1962). Cover art by Victor Kalin.

'If you enjoyed George Axelrod's THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH or Peter DeVries' THE TUNNEL OF LOVE or would like to know what kind of girl LOLITA turned out to be when she grew up you will love THE MARRIAGE CAGE'

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An illustration spread by Ben Wohlberg for Vesle Feustermaker's Dividing Line, published in the July, 1964 issue of Redbook magazine.  Ben Wohlberg (1927-2024) started out professionally as a figurative, realist painter and portraitist, producing mostly images for magazines and books before evolving into a highly regarded abstract painter in his retirement years.

Route of the Red Gold by Dan J. Marlowe (Fawcett Gold Medal, 1967). Cover art by Robert McGinnis.

'Roy Weston, Captain U.S.M.C-- Specialist in amphibious technology. But the CIA boys wanted Weston for something quite different. Find out, they told him, what's happening to our disappearing gold reserves.  Who was smuggling the negotiable bars to the Caribbean? And where did it go when it left St. Croix?  Find out, they told Marine Captain Roy Weston. But what Weston found out was that he was being used as a sucker, a decoy, a sitting duck for anybody who cared to shoot a few bullets his way. And there were five enemy agents--maybe six, if he included the warm-blooded blonde--who were ready to do exactly that...'

Royo County by Robert Roper (Fawcett Crest, 1975). Cover art by Charles Gehm. 

'Royo County, small, inbred, primitive, is that flat California farm country where no one who isn't running from something would go and which everyone between 16 and 40 wants to leave.  The people you meet in Royo County seem ordinary enough. But underneath the deceptively quiet surface runs a stream of savagery and passion. Like Buck and Eva who play at sex, never knowing when her husband Ed will return. And Ed, who has his own private game.'

The God Player by Eddie Constantine (Ballantine, 1976). Cover art by Raymond Kursar (1944-). Kursar is a prolific paperback cover artist but he also produced movie and theater posters and collectible plate art in a career that I believe may still be active.

'DECADENT GAMES OF THE SUPER-RICH...
POWER:  David--Who controlled entire governments but couldn't control one woman. Gudrun--whose ruthless ambition drove her to destroy her son. 
LUST:  Sandy--Whose husband couldn't quench her wanton hunger for a younger man. Marie-Anne-- Who loved all her men too well.
MURDER:  Buckley--who stole a secret that could shatter an empire. Walter--who would do anything to escape the cruel contract on his soul.'

Beloved Rebel by Chet Cunningham (Leisure, 1978). Although uncredited and unsigned, this cover was undoubtedly produced by master magazine, paperback, and movie poster artist Mel Crair (1923-2007).

'Harriet hung back in a corner where the light was weakest. Ben Rutledge frowned, then counted again. "We have a small problem, troops. I sent one man back to check on the ship, and now I find that we still have twenty-six here. That's one too many. A spy, perhaps?" 
   One of the men saw Harriet, grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly to the front of the room. She struggled, and as she did she knocked off her cap, and her long brown hair spilled out.   
   A chorus of surprised shouts went up from the astonished men. The twenty-sixth soldier was a woman!'

The Perfect Thief by Ronald Jay Bass (Jove, 1978). Cover art by George Gross (1909-2003).  Gross, like his father before him, was a student at the Pratt Institute in NYC. After graduation he began working in his father's art studio, producing pre-war pulp magazine covers. In later years he became a successful paperback cover artist and Men's Adventure magazine illustrator (MAM's). As a realist painter, he is considered one of the best in the business.

Ronald Jay Bass, also known as Ron Bass, is an American novelist, screenwriter, film producer, and lawyer. The Perfect Thief is a resurrection from memory of his first unpublished novel, written when he was just 17, but its manuscript subsequently destroyed in a fit of youthful pique. Oh, the rage of youth!

'He's discovered the perfect fraud. And his victims are only too willing to help. His scheme is simple. And ingenious. He tells every one of his customers the truth. And every one of them assumes he is lying. Their mistake is earning him 12 million dollars.'

Islands by Marta Randall (Pocket, 1980, cover art not credited).  Islands is probably Marta Randall's most accomplished novel, but her output in that category remains relatively meager, just six SFF novels, and one mystery. But she has written more than two dozen short stories and as many essays. Her work generally "imparts elements of Feminist discourse," and I believe, is that much better for having done so.

There is at least one, and possibly two other cover artists, who contributed regularly to Pocket/Timescape during the 1980's but that never signed their work, or were given credit by the publisher. Their covers all look very similar to the one above, clean, uncomplicated, and basically airbrushed looking. If anyone knows who that person or persons might be, please let me know (note: they are all uncredited on isfdb). Thanks.

'The Immortality Treatments had failed. She was destined to grow old, to wither and fade among them--the wondrously beautiful, gloriously vain, Immortals.  After the floods, they rebuilt the earth. Now the Immortals lived in transmutable homes, they traveled the galaxy, they colonized the sea floor. There was no place for her in their sparkling cities. Because she was different--she would die.  Her refuge was aboard ship, on the Ilium. Her ocean-floor exploration of buried islands yielded treasures the Immortals prized. But among the ruins she discovered a dark, enclosed place--a special room which contained a power the Immortals had lost, a power that if she could but learn it, would transform the world forever...'

Heavy Metal magazine (July, 1982). Cover art by Thomas Warkentin (1935-2003).  Warkentin was an American illustrator whose career covered technical drawing, advertising, album cover design, animation, and magazine illustration. He wrote and drew the Star Trek newspaper strip from 1979 to 1981 and scripted the Flash Gordon strip between 1991 and 1995. In the 1980s he worked for Filmation, producing art for their He-Man and She-Ra animated series, then moved over to Warner Bros. where for ten years he did background design on their animated series.

Echoes From the Hills by Barbara Ferry Johnson (Sphere, London, 1984, cover art not credited, although possibly inspired by a still of Ann Sheridan kissing Cary Grant in the 1949 film, I Was A Male War Bride).  Barbara Ferry Johnson (1923-1989) was an American educator and novelist. She was a recipient of the very first Master of Art degree in English granted by Clemson University. She wrote six novels, all of which made the New York Times Best Seller list.

 

Slippage by Harlan Ellison (Zeising, 1997). Jacket art by Jill Bauman. Jill Bauman created hundreds of covers for horror, mystery, fantasy and science fiction books during the 1980s and 1990s. She also produced frontispieces and interior illustrations for Easton Press, among them Stephen King's The Dead Zone.  Slippage contains 21 short stories or novellas, 1 teleplay and 2 essays. It's the only collection by Ellison that I failed to buy when it was new. All of the material was written in the late 1980s and '90s, when Ellison was still considered relevant.

Strange Relations by Philip Jose Farmer (omnibus, Baen, 2005). Cover art by Clyde Caldwell.  I've been aware of Clyde Caldwell since his first paperback cover appeared in 1978, a very nice piece of illustration for David C. Smith's sword & sorcery novel Oron. Several years after that Caldwell started working for TSR, a gaming company that also produced game associated fantasy fiction, none of which I was motivated to read or buy because I wasn't a gamer, although I did pay attention to their sometimes great cover art. It's been said that the 1980s, '90s and '00s were the "golden age" of fantasy art, and if that's so then Caldwell, whose prolific contributions via TSR as well as freelancing, was one of its leading if not best proponents. Aside from a silly SF cover or two for Baen, such as Jerry Pournelle's 2008 novel Exile-And Glory, Caldwell's perfectly composed paintings showcasing powerful, sexy women has been beyond reproach.

'THE LOVERS (novel): One of the most talked-about and groundbreaking novels in SF. Sent by the religious tyranny of a future Earth to the planet Ozagen, Hal Yarrow met Jeanette, an apparently human fugitive, hiding in ancient ruins built by a long-vanished race. Unconsecrated contact with any female was forbidden to Yarrow--and love for an alien female was an unspeakable abomination. But Yarrow's lifelong conditioning was no match for his strange attraction to Jeanette.   

FLESH (novel): The starship captain had been on a voyage lasting 800 years, and returned to find an Earth ruled by revived ancient pagan rituals. He was crowned the "Sunhero"... and, unless he could escape, he would be the guest of honor at a fertility rite which would conclude with his very unpleasant death.   

STRANGE RELATIONS (collection): Tales of unbounded imagination telling of strange--and often deadly--encounters between human and alien: MOTHER (novelette), DAUGHTER (short story), FATHER (novella), SON (short story), MY SISTER'S BROTHER (novella).

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

  

[© February, 2026, Jeffersen]