The rare surviving cover painting by Frank Paul for the May 1935 edition of Wonder Stories, a futuristic sci-fi pulp title published by Hugo Gernsback. A detailed machine age science minded scene illustrating the interior story “Human Ants” by J. Harvey Haggard. Pictured in this bustling scene is the flight of altruist planes over a medical laboratory just before they bomb the urban metropolis. The man in the glass coffin is preserved by suspended animation and attended to by lab technicians.
Frank R. Paul was born in Vienna, Austria on April 18, 1884, He died on June 29, 1963 in Teaneck, New Jersey. Known as the “Dean of Science Fiction” he illustrated hundreds of pulp magazine covers and interior illustrations.
The artist studied art in Vienna, Paris, and then New York City. He began working for Gernsback Publications doing covers & technical drawings for Gernsback’s Electrical Experimentor (later Science & Invention), Radio News, and others. He was the natural choice for the covers of Amazing Stories in 1926 and became known as the pre-imminent science fiction artist of the time, igniting the imagination of many readers. Paul painted all of the covers for Amazing stories during Gernsback’s ownership of the magazine. When Gernsback was forced to sell in 1929 Paul followed Gernsback to his new company where he painted numerous covers for Wonder Stories and other Gernsback titles such Wonder Science Stories and Air Wonder Stories.
When Gernsback left the pulp field, Paul did covers for other publishers, as well as back covers for Amazing Stories & Fantastic. He did not do much more for the pulps until Gernsback’s short lived Science Fiction Plus series in 1954.
