Category Archives: Art

The Covers of Baseball Stories

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

1946

Baseball Stories was a biannual magazine that ran from 1938 to 1954.  As the title implied, the magazine was all about baseball, featuring both fiction and straight reporting.  With my Rangers currently having the worst record in AL West (25-44!) and only the Orioles preventing us from having the absolute worst record in the League, I have been enjoying looking at the covers of Baseball Stories and remembering back to those days when my team won the pennant twice and made me fall in love with the game.  (I still love the game and my team, even if it sometimes seems like I’ll probably be in my 80s before we ever make it to the playoffs again.)

Here’s a sampling of the covers of Baseball Stories.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the names of the artists responsible for any of these covers.  If you know who deserves the credit, please drop us a comment under the post and I’ll be sure to go back and add their names!

1938

1940

1940

1942

1943

1945

1946 (my favorite)

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

Artwork of the Day: Dime Detective Magazine (by Rafael DeSoto)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Rafael DeSoto

This is from 1943. There is a lot happening with this cover. The handcuffs suggest that the man with the guns just escaped custody. Maybe the woman in red helped him with those pliers that she’s holding. Is she now trying to steal a license plate or replace the old one? If she’s trying to do a replacement, I think she has more important things to worry about. It’s going to take more than new plates to make people not notice all the bullet holes on that car.

This cover was done by Rafael DeSoto, who has been featured many times on this site and who will be featured many times in the future.

Artwork of the Day: Ranch Romances (by J. George Janes)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by J. Geroge Janes

This is from 1953. I don’t know how much romance anyone could expect to get when they’re mishandling a pitchfork like that. Even with the sleeve of her shirt pinned to barn wall, she should still be able to turn around to get a good shot at him. Obviously, the handler of that pitchfork isn’t the smartest outlaw in the west.

Artwork of the Day: Town Quarry (by Mort Engle)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Mort Engle

This came out in 1963, proving that quarries have always been a place of danger and sin. I like this cover, despite the “boy without morals” and the “innocent girl” both appearing to be in their mid-to-late 30s. The cover captures a time and a place. It tells a story, even before you flip over to the first page.

This cover was done by Mort Engle.

Artwork of the Day: Paris Nights Magazine (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Paris-Nights-Magazine-November-1936-600x769

Artist Unknown

Though the cover brings to mind Christmas, this issue is actually from November of 1936.  I just don’t know if I would want two monkeys starting at me while I was getting dressed.  One of them especially appears to be a little too amused.

When I first saw this, I assumed that Enoch Bolles was the cover artist but I can’t find any confirmation of that.  For now, the artist of this cover is unknown.