Artist Profile: William Jacobson (1921 — 1992)


While I was searching for information about the artist William Jacobson, I came across 1992 Chicago Tribune obituary for an artist named William “Babe” Jacobson.  According to the obituary (and assuming that the William Jacobson who did the covers below is the same Jacobson who was written about in the Tribune), William Jacobson studied at at the Art Institute of Chicago, the American Academy of Art and the Chicago Academy of Fine Art.  After serving in World War II, Jacobson became an artist with the Stevens-Gross Studios before, in 1960, opening up a studio of his own, William Jacobson Illustration.

I could find much more information about Jacobson so, as often happens with the artists of the pulp era, his work will have to speak for him.  Here’s a sampling of it:

The Covers of Famous Detective Cases


Famous Detective Cases was a true crime magazine that was published from March of 1935 to October of 1936.  Like most crime magazines of the era, it featured stories about unsolved crimes, gangsters, murder, and public scandal.  Unlike the more flamboyant style that was favored by other true crime magazines of the era, the covers of Famous Detective Cases tended to take almost an expressionist approach to its subject matter.

Below are the covers of Famous Detective Cases.  I don’t know the identity of any of the artists who worked on these covers but if I find out, this post will be updated.

(My two personal favorites are the shadowy covers for June and December.)