Browsers' Bookstore

Dustjacket Cover Art

One of the reasons I am fond of these old novels is the cover art. Look at any dustjacket today and compare them with the works of the past. Although children's book illustration has generally improved over the last hundred years (in my humble opinion, and, of course there are exceptional stand-outs), adult book illustration is all but a forgotten art.

Unchastened Youth (orig: Riven).
Jean Devanny.
(1930) A classic art deco model is featured on this DJ which has fantastic composition and form. Artist: uncredited.

House of Sudden Sleep.
John Hawk.
(1930) A great example of the halfway point between the formality of the Art Deco school, and the sensationalism coming soon with the pulps. My favorite part is the hand-like shrubbery. Artist signature: Gene.

Guest the One-Eyed.
Gunnar Gunnarsson.
(1922) This was considered more high-brow literature than most of the books on this page. A little stiff, but the cliff is cool! Artist: Givo (or Giro).

The House of Lost Identity.
Donald Corley.
(1927) This imaginative illustration was actually done by the author, who also inked many internal illustrations and decorations.

Special Delivery.
[James] Branch Cabell.
(1933) A graceful abstract cover. Artist: Samuel Bernard Schaeffer.

The Datchley Inheritance.
Stephen McKenna.
(1930) A nice pattern. This book also has interesting endpapers. It doesn't quite go with the flap's description of the book as "an amusing burlesque" but we'll let that pass. Artist: uncredited.

The Oldest God.
Stephen McKenna.
(1926) An intriguing DJ although the women seem a bit stiff. Pan playing behind the window is great, though! Artist: unknown.

The Cuirass of Diamons.
Edgar Jepson.
(1929) Another nice pattern for this adventure novel. Artist: uncredited.

The Clairvoyant.
Ernst Lothar.
(1932) A mediocre accomplishment, but interesting because the motif here is actually "BLA" which stands for Book League of America, the publisher of the book. The endpapers are similar in concept, and the spine has the motif yet again. Although I'm no student of the BLA, I must say I'm not familiar with this logo, though it's doubtful they created it just for this title. Artist: uncredited.

The Wise Wife.
Arthur Somers Roche.
(1928) The hearts actually wrap around the entire book. Very well done, both light-hearted and appealing. The boards are faux-marbled in the same colors (plus gilt.) Artist: uncredited.

Bab: A Sub-Deb.
Mary Roberts Rinehart.
(1917) Interesting DJ. First of all, it was done in the era of traditional paintings as cover art (or plain text), yet this sketch-like illustration contains some elements of the coming age of Art Deco. Secondly, this is one of the earliest dustjackets I've seen with embossed lettering. Artist: Thelma Cudlipp, a big illustrator of her time..

The Mountain Girl.
Payne Erskine.
(1912?) A standard 1910's DJ painting, although the dazed look on her face makes me think our Mountain Girl has been smoking a little to much mountain weed. Artist: J. Duncan Gleason, who also did four internal illustrations, none of which are the cover illus.

Glory of the Seas.
Agnes Danforth Hewes.
(1933) Unfortunately for the author, her book is collected for the art, not the text! This cover art was deemed so good by the publisher, they actually reproduce it in its entirety internally as the title page. (The normal thing to do would be to reproduce the painting only as the frontispiece, not the lettering too.) Artist: N. C. Wyeth, one of the most famous illustrators of the century.

Michael.
E. F. Benson.
(1916?) This DJ is a little faded, but it remains an excellent cover, especially considering that the publisher is A.L. Burt. Artist: uncredited (too bad!)

The Woods.
Douglas Malloch.
(1913) Very nice layout, with woodcut illustration. An interesting note is that the publisher is American Lumbermen, and they have used very nice paper for the DJ -- this is a much nicer jacket than most of its day, in terms of artwork and paper quality, and a quick search finds that about half the copies currently for sale have retained their dustjackets, which is a very high percentage for literature of this era. Artist: uncredited.

The Man Who Pretended.
W. B. Maxwell.
(1929) (Sorry for the condition of this one.) Great flapper fashion on this one, with the interesting side note that the woman has five fingers and no thumb (see larger image.) Artist: Katherine Sturgis (KS).

Jim Davis.
John Masefield.
(ca. 1930s) Painting by Frances Brundage.

The King's Coil.
Conde B. Pallen.
(1928) Pallen was the only author published by the Manhattanville Press. All of their DJs I've seen have simple, two-color (plus b/w) illustrations, possibly even done by Pallen himself!

The Office Wife.
Faith Baldwin.
(1930) Demure yet jazzy illustration featuring shorthand which I cannot decipher. The portrait is repeated in b/w on the title page. Artist: Arthur Hawkins, a well-respected DJ artist.

Dark Duel.
Marguerite Steen.
(1929) Strange silhouette on this one. That might be the artist's signature by the shoulder, but it is illegible.

Advance Agent.
John August [Bernard de Voto.]
(1942) Mediocre artwork featuring strange light source. Artist: George T. Keller.

Murder for a Wanton.
Whitman Chambers.
(1939) This cheap reprint actually features good artwork, though not nearly as sensational as the artwork soon to come. Interestingly, this came a whole three years after its film version ("Sinner Take All") was released. Artist: starts with DA.. then h?, then goes into the grey. Might end with "ie".

Blades.
George Barr McCutcheon.
(1928) Artist: unknown.

The Time of Man.
Elizabeth Madox Roberts.
(1926) Good illustration, possibly woodcut, although the lettering is off-angles and differently sized. Artist: unknown (G & D).

Lucinda.
Anthony Hope.
(1920) This is probably a nice painting, but the reproduction is blurry. Artist's name is blurry, but looks like Stanton Murphy.

The Maid of Mirabelle: A Romance of Lorraine.
Eliot H. Robinson.
(1920) Internally illustrated by the author, and this cameo cover may have been, as well.

The Velvet Well.
John Gearon.
(1946) Artist: Hawkins (possibly Arthur Hawkins, see "The Office Wife")

Ambulance No. 10: Personal Letters from the Front.
Leslie Buswell.
(1916) The rear cover is similar: ink sketch at the top, blurbs from famous Americans on the bottom. A nice example of the transition from DJs being informative to visually appealing. Artist: Ch. Huord? Huard?

JDark Music and Other Spectral Tales.
Jack Snow.
(1947) One of my favorite DJs from this decade, complete with creepy bats and Zeus-like figure. Spine features guy with burning hair playing a lyre. Artist: Ronald Clyne, who would go on to produce 500 record covers for Folkways Records from 1951-1981. Nothing nearly as cool as this, though!

The House of Baltazar.
William J. Locke.
(1920) Typical of its period, sorry about the title being torn off! Artist: unknown.

Peregrine's Progress.
Jeffery Farnol.
(1922) Great tramping painting. Artist: unknown.

The High Adventure.
Jeffery Farnol.
(1926) In matching DJ as above. Artist: unknown.

Once Again.
E. J. Rath.
(1929) A great painting, catching the humor of the book. Interesting that this painting shows virtually no Art Deco influence, despite its date (and the young couple are clearly of the period), nor is it similar to artwork of the teens. Artist: unknown, though I'm curious.

Bill -- The Sheik.
A. M. Williamson.
(1927) The scan doesn't show it, but this is wrap-around artwork, the spine having another guy on a camel, and the rear having a black convertible racing through the desert. Excellent. Artist: Elsie Carpell.

Partners of the Tide.
Joseph C. Lincoln.
(ca. 1915) A simple sketch that could have been done (and maybe was) by any teenage aspiring graphic artist gets the point across that this is maritime fiction. Artist: unknown.

Amaru.
Robert Dean Frisbie.
(1946) Oddly enough, I don't know if I've ever seen this book without the DJ -- a prime example of artwork so well done, no one wants to throw it away. Artist: Vera Bock.

Scaramouche.
Rafael Sabatini.
(1923) From the photoplay edition. Interesting to see that they used a painting that was not from the movie. The rear panel has three photos from the film. Also, this is towards the end of the days of much text on the front panel, yet the early days of titles being listed on the reverse side of the DJ (500 G & D titles.) Artist: unknown

Physical Training Manual for Everyone.
Capt. Arthur W. Wallander.
(1925) Great DJ showing tough-guy detective manhandling a bad guy. Rear panel has two additional fighting illustrations and nice lettering. Wallander would later become police commissioner for New York City. Artist: unknown.

Under Colonial Colors.
Everett T. Tomlinson.
(1902 copyright, but rear panel lists 1926 books) This is probably not the original 1902 cover. Nice portrait of Benedict Arnold. Artist: unknown.

The Green Jade Necklace.
Josephine Chase.
(1931) Mediocre artwork for this girls' detective series. Artist: initials "F.L."

Vivia.
E.D.E.N. Southworth.
(ca. 1910-20) One of the best illustrations for this period. The artwork is reproduced on the boards as a pastedown. A nice (though cheap) edition of this ever-popular author. Artist: unknown.

The Butterfly Man.
George Barr McCutcheon.
(1910) Another surprisingly good DJ by a notoriously bad publisher (A. L. Burt), though in this case, the painting says "copyright 1910, Dodd, Mead." The painting is again reproduced as the frontis. Artist: Harrison Fisher (signature is by sheet music on floor.)

Effie Hetherington.
Robert Buchanan.
(1896 or 1899) One of our earliest DJs features a beautiful design which is repeated, embossed, on the cloth boards. Artist: unknown.

Private Selby.
Edgar Wallace.
(ca. 1925-35) Artist: Abbey

Corn in Egypt.
C. E. Bechhofer-Roberts.
(1929) Novel of Joseph. Artist: unknown.

If Tomorrow Comes: A Tale of Two Worlds.
Louis Aaron Reitmeister.
(1934) Interestingly, the frontispiece is a portrait (head only) of the now-stereotypical alien (inverted pear-shape, oversized round cranium, black eyes.) This understated DJ seems to be geared toward a general audience rather than a science fiction one. Artist: unknown.