I’ve received a few messages of concern regarding my recent lax posting here at le Trash. To set the record straight, I was not mauled by a family of bears or ground into meat pies by the Demon Barber of Fleet Street- I am alive, and therefore, have no worthy excuse for not updating this blog. So without further ado, the show must go on….
It’s Monday, and I come bearing gifts. Following is a list of 18 mega resources for vintage book cover art with thousands of pictures from sci-fi, comic books, pulp, exploitation and dime store novels. Bookmark and enjoy!
The Phillip K. Dick Book Cover Art Gallery
From the site:
Philip K. Dick fans from around the world have contributed to this scanned collection of over 650 PKD book covers. We think you will enjoy seeing the many visual interpretations of his stories presented here.
The War of the Worlds Book Cover Collection
From the site:
The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells, has been continuously in print for over 100 years. Collected here are the covers of many of those editions, submitted by generous fans from around the world. My purpose is primarily educational: the span of covers represents a huge swath of graphic design, from 1898 to the present, across languages and through the effects of radio, movie, musical, and television re-interpretations. Enjoy!
Ben Samuels’ Classic Golden Age Comic Book Cover Gallery
From the site:
I’ve been collecting comic books for over 25 years and I wanted to be able to share some of my favorite covers. All of the covers, with a very few exceptions, are from my personal collection.
Front Cover: Great Book Jacket and Cover Design
From Amazon:
In this revealing and highly entertaining look at the great book jackets of the 20th century from around the world, author Alan Powers tells the story of the book jacket from its early days, via the advent of the paperback, to the most eye-catching covers produced today. With over 300 illustrations, including first editions by famous artists, jackets by key designers and artists, groundbreaking series from major publishing houses, and classic pulp-fiction jackets, this unique and fascinating insight into the world of the front cover will appeal to anyone with a passion for books and graphic design.
The Blue Hammer Fabulous Book Covers
The Blue Hammer blog regularly reviews the covers of old books. The covers featured are usually funny and/or bizarre.
FWIS Book Cover Blog
Although it’s not about vintage book cover design, the Fwis Covers blog features some great stuff and is really worth a look.
From the site:
Covers is dedicated to the appreciation of book cover design. We update several times a week. Save for the occasional guest editor, this blog is updated and maintained by Fwis, a design firm based out of Brooklyn, NY and Portland, OR.
Gumshoes, Sleuths, & Snoopers
From the site:
Gumshoes, Sleuths & Snoopers currently provides an in-depth look at 185 detective and mystery novels originally published during the period 1930-1960. It is the result of a collaborative effort in which volunteers from near and far provided detailed information about plot, setting, characters and other thematic factors for each title.
(Via BoingBoing)
Grand Comic Book Database
From the site:
We are building a simple database that will be easy to use and understand, easy to add to, and easy for people to contribute to.
We will include information on creator credits, story details, and other information useful to the comic book reader and fan.
If we are able to take this to its ultimate conclusion, this database will contain data for every comic book ever published.
This project is for us, and the people like us. We will use this as a comic-book database which can be searched and sorted. The database will be a resource for fans, hobbyists and collectors, with no commercial objectives.
Monster Blog
From the site:
You know the super-heroes, right? Spider Man, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man made Marvel famous. But do you know what Marvel Comics was all about in the late 50’s and early 60’s? Monsters! That’s right, monsters!
Join me in a celebration of the Marvel monster comics of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Here you’ll find the pulse-pounding tales of radiation run amok, of scientific experiments gone awry, of shape-shifting, mind-bending aliens from the furthest reaches of outer space!
Vintage Paperbacks
From the site:
If you love vintage paperbacks, you have come to the right place. There are over 800 images of paperback books on this website.
Life on Mars
From the site:
The recent discovery of possible primitive life within meteorites originating from Mars caused a media flurry. “Life on Mars” read the headlines. The allure of “Martians” had captured us again. This exhibit of science fiction cover and interior illustrations shows the long tern interest in “The Red Planet.” These classic issues from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s are a testament to the limitless potential of graphic design. This sample of Martian-themed science fiction illustrations was drawn from the William J. Heron Speculative Fiction Collection, one of the largest of its kind, housed in the Virginia Tech Libraries’ Digital Library and Archives.
Norman Saunders Cover Art
From the site:
This site documents all published works of Norman Saunders, from 1926 to 1986, for historians to study, collectors to authenticate, and enthusiasts to enjoy. Everything is organized chronologically to allow viewers to browse the paintings in the same order in which the artist created them, to give some impression of the artist’s evolving style.
Babes in Space
The name says it all.
Vintage Octopus Pulp Covers!
From the site:
The octopus, known as poulpe in French, pulpo in Spanish, polip in Hungarian, and polypous in Classical Greek, is pluperfectly the essence of pulp.
Here you will find hard-to-locate images of science fiction, fantasy, and adventure pulp and comic covers featuring the wily octopus, courtesy of your hostess Francesca Myman.
Ellis Parker Butler’s Cover Art from Pulp Magazines, Periodicals and Vintage Magazines
From the site:
Cover Art from Pulp Magazines, Periodicals and Vintage Magazines: images of covers of hundreds of magazines from the pulp fiction era
Gay on the Range
From the site:
An archive of gay paperback artwork from the 50’s and 60’s
Strange Sisters
From the site:
an archive of Lesbian paperback artwork from the 50’s and 60’s
The Pulp Gallery
From the site:
The Pulp Gallery is a visual reference guide to the wonderful cover art of pulp and pin-up magazines. Primarily the Gallery focuses on pulp cover art from the 1920’s through the 1950’s and includes some magazines from beyond those date ranges. On display are thousands of magazines covers for those seeking collecting, reference or pure entertainment value. I hope you enjoy!
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Plockhead. - PLOCKHEAD[DOT]COM // Mar 4, 2008 at 2:05 am
[…] Hier findet ihr, neben einigen Links zu Pulp- Vintage- und Exploitation-Galerien, eine Übersicht von Bucheinbänden, die für HG Wells´ Klassiker “Krieg der Welten” im Laufe des letzten Jahrhunderts gestaltet wurden. Interessant finde ich, wie sich das Design über diesen langen Zeitraum verändert hat - der älteste Einband dieser Sammlung stammt aus dem Jahr 1898. […]
2 Justin (Pusha) // Mar 5, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Thanks for all these resources! Illustratiion like this is not easy to come by.
P.S. How many logos so you have? Seems like a hundred by now:)
3 Myku // Mar 5, 2008 at 8:20 pm
hahaha
Well, Justin, I believe I’ve got somewhere around 10 logos. Seemed like a good idea at the time ;)
4 Fran // Mar 6, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Too sexy picture !
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