Take a trip into the past with this selection of paperback covers, all done by the British artist James E. McConnell!  Born in Bedlington, Northumberland and educated at St. Martin’s School, McConnell went freelance in 1933 and subsequently became one of the most prominent and prolific paperback artists in Britain.  Though he worked in all genres, he is best remembered for his western and historical work.  His western covers epitomized how many in Europe visualized the American old west, complete with manly gunslingers and the women who loved them.

Here’s a small selection of some of McConnell’s work: