by Lejaren Hiller

Lejaren Hiller ws born in Wisconsin in 1880.  He studied at the Chicago Art Institute and started his career in Paris.  Eventually, he returned to America and found found regular work as an illustrator.  Hiller would be known as one of the pioneer of photographic illustration, carefully staging his photographs so that they would be as exciting and as full of mystery as any of the more traditional pulp covers.

Even as Hiller found success as a photographer, he also continued to paint and draw.  His 1930s covers for Detective Fiction Weekly remain popular amongst collectors.  Here’s a sampling of his work for Detective Fiction Weekly:

Hiller passed away in 1969.  His son, Lejaren Hiller, Jr., was a prominent chemist and composer.