Category Archives: Art

Artwork of the Day: Swamp Nymph (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

This book was originally published in 1962.  John B. Thomas was a Louisiana native and World War II veteran who wrote at least 75 books over the course of his literary career.  Though most of his books were ignored during his lifetime, they’ve subsequently been rediscovered by collectors and he’s developed a cult reputation.  Swamp Nymph was recently reissued, with a far less effective cover.

I don’t know why certain men were apparently so obsessed with hooking up in the swamp but apparently it was a popular topic during the pulp era.  Between the mosquitos, the leeches, the crocodiles, and the malaria, it probably wasn’t worth it.  The cover artist’s identity is unknown but this cover undoubtedly sold a lot of books.  I’m just impressed that someone can keep their makeup and their hair so perfect while living in a swamp.

Artwork of the Day: I Fear You Not! (by Raymond Johnson)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Raymond Johnson

This book was first published in 1956.  According to Amazon, it’s a “racy, realistic look at gangsters who terrorized the entire town.”  Did they terrorize why them while on the phone in the tub?  I guess if he could “buy cops the way he bought women,” he might as well.

This cover was done by Raymond Johnson, whose work has been featured many times on this site.  Obviously, the thing that catches your attention about this cover is the way the giant exclamation mark is also used to give the reader a peek inside the story.  No one in either the period or the mark above appear to be feeling any fear.

Artwork of the Day: Glamour Photography (by Rafael De Soto)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Rafael De Soto

This was the cover of the Summer 1957 edition of Glamour Photography. I tried to find more information about the magazine but my Google search took me to some pretty weird places so I guess this cover (and the “glamour studio on wheels” blurb) will just have to speak for itself.

This cover was done by Rafael De Soto.  I’ve shared a lot of De Soto’s work on this site.  Apparently, in the 50s, farm girls would get all dressed up and sit at the side of the road while photographers cruised up and Route 66, searching for legs to photograph.  This cover is both innocent and tawdry.  I hope no one got in the car.

Artwork of the Day: The Country School — A Teacher’s Delight (by Bill Edwards)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Bill Edwards

As you can guess from the fashion choices made by the teacher and the student on the cover of this book, The Country School was first published in 1970.  According to no less an authority than the Library of Congress Copyright Office, Sharon Gordon was a pseudonym.

The cover at was by Bill Edwards, a former Hollywood actor and model who found a second career as a cover artist and a third career as a licensed SCUBA instructor.  Teachers seducing their students was apparently a popular subject for pulp novels, especially the novels of the 60s and 70s.  Though the cover blurb suggests that the teacher is the one initiating the seduction, she’s seated in the cover while the student towers over her, which creates a skewed power dynamic.  Though his face is turned at an angle, what we can see actually makes the student look older than the teacher.  Maybe he’s had to repeat a grade or two.

Artwork of the Day: Up To Her Neck (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

This book was first published in 1955.

The artist is unknown.  I wish I could tell you who did this cover because it’s one of my favorites.  From the blowing wind to the man in the creek who appears to be saying, “I got undressed, how about you?,” this is a very evocative cover that is open to so many different interpretations.  Did Shirley and the man go to the creek together or did Shirley follow the man and then wait for him to see her?  Or did the man spot Shirley at the creek and then swim over to her?  Is the man smiling because he’s just seen Shirley or is he smiling because the water is refreshing?  Is Shirley intrigued by the man or is she just playing coy?  This is a cover the invites you to open the book and find out for yourself.

Artwork of the Day: Too Much Woman (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

The book was first published in 1961.  The cover artist is unknown and I couldn’t find any information on Elliott Gilbert either.

Joan Manready’s name appears to be appropriate as she’s ready for any man.  I guess the title means that she had too much passion for just one man, like her husband, to satisfy.  Her husband is cold, which means that Joan has to seduce (or, as the cover puts it, conquer) the pool boy.  Not surprisingly, the pool boy is not putting up much resistance.  Speaking for myself, I like the broad shoulders and the abs but the unibrow is a definite turn off.

Artwork of the Day: The Arrival

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

By Erin Nicole

I called this picture The Arrival, though I guess it could just as easily be called Erin Playing With Photoshop.  Though the editing is obvious, I still like the way the image turned out.  Though it may be a cliché, I like the flash of pink streaking across an otherwise colorless picture.  The building is an apartment complex located near the Shops at Legacy in Plano.  I, of course, added the sepia tone, the sunburst, and the pink lightning bolt afterwards.  I don’t know what’s arriving at the end of that lightening bolt.  It could be aliens or poltergeist or maybe an angel.  This picture is from a period I went through where I was always trying to add the possibility of an angel to every photograph I took.

Artwork of the Day: Backwater Woman (by Rudy Nappi)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Rudy Nappi

The message of this cover appears to be that, if you’re going to live in the backwaters, you’re going to have to bare your midriff and show a little leg if you want to survive.  The arched eyebrow suggests that she thinks she had the situation under control but sticking your bare feet into yellow swamp water is not recommended, unless you want to risk attracting leeches and crocodiles.

This book was first published in 1957.  The cover is by Rudy Nappi, whose work I’ve frequently shared in the past and I’ll probably share even more of it in the future.

Artwork of the Day: Woman Chaser (by Jack Thurston)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Jack Thurston

Woman Chaser was originally published in 1962.  It was authored by Robert Turner, who wrote several pulp novels.  In 1948, he also wrote a how-to book for writers who were interesting breaking into the pulp market.  I found a review of it over at Rough Edges.

The cover art was done by Jack Thurston, who I profiled on this site back in 2017.  Like a lot of pulp covers from the era, this cover suggests more than it shows.  We see a middle aged man necking with a dark-haired woman but we don’t know if the woman is Fay or Angie or maybe even Myrna, Monica, or Juanita.  I guess she could be any woman from Angie to Zelda.  This is a cover that says buy the book and start reading to find out what happens when that white shirt and black pants and blue negligee are all on the floor.

I also like the way that the blurb plays into moral panic.  It’s not a book about Jack’s inability to stay faithful.  Instead, it’s “a novel about threat of today’s other women!”