Before becoming one of the most significant singer-songwriters of the 20th century, Leonard Cohen lived as a struggling poet and novelist, publishing his first book of poetry in 1956, and his first novel “The Favorite Game” in 1963. “The Favorite Game” is a semi-autobiographical coming of age story about a young Jewish man in Montreal, which was written between 1959 and 1960, after Cohen was awarded a $2,000 Canada Council grant, which he used to live cheaply in London and on the Greek island of Hydra.
The book did not initially make a big mark in the world of letters, but has gone on to be a touchstone for fans of Cohen, exploring the themes the author was known for in both his books and lyrics–sex, god, and searching.
The large format color photograph by Milton Charles offered here capitalizes on the sex part of that trinity, showing a mod nymphette pouting seductively at the viewer. This was the original camera ready artwork used in the production of the 1970 Avon paperback edition of the novel, a copy of which is included in the sale.
About the artist, by Robert Charles:
Milton Charles was born in New York, NY in 1921 and died in Califon, New Jersey in 2002.
He studied at Pratt Institute, New York, NY, the Art Students League, New York, NY, and Zurich Institute of Design, Zurich, Switzerland.
Milton Charles taught painting at Parsons School of Design in New York, NY, Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, New York University in New York, NY and Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY.
Milton Charles was the Art Director of Jaguar Cars in New York, NY from 1959-1964. In 1964 he started his own company Milton Charles Design. This company introduced a concept and design studio for the publishing industry. It used appealing visual images to convey the book’s essence, which were skillfully arranged to achieve a simple powerful cover. The following book covers were conceptualized and designed by Milton Charles and became trendsetters which helped the books become bestsellers: Spellbinder by Harold Robins, Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins, The World According to Garp by John Irving and The Love Machine by Jacqueline Susann.
From 1969-1973 Milton Charles was the Creative Director of World Publishing, A Times Mirror Company in New York, NY. In 1973 to the early 1990’s Charles was the Art Director and Vice President of Pocket Books Inc,. a division of Simon and Schuster in New York, NY. Milton Charles had a very successful career as an Art Director winning in excess of 500 awards from American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), Art Directors Club, The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts Annual, Creativity in America and American Book Publishers (ABA) all in New York, NY.
His one-man exhibitions in New York, NY included the Salpeter Gallery, the Weyhe Gallery and The Society of Illustrators. Charles was included with group shows at the Associated American Artists (AAA), Babcock Galleries, American Contemporary Art Gallery (ACA), Salpeter, Arbitrage and Anita Shapolsky Galleries all in New York, NY.
