Above: Full view of pastel

Above: The artist’s signature

Above: Published cover included in sale

A bold, defining and lurid pastel cover illustration for the July 1942 Expose Detective True Crime Cases illustrating the interior story “Sex Was My Racket.” In this case the tables are turned to lurid effect as the typically menaced pin up queen cover girl is brandishing a large gleaming knife and a hard boiled outlook. A large and desirable rare surviving example of the detective genre of the Spicy Pulps. From the important estate of Charles Martignette, co-author of “The Great American Pin-up.”

Above: Frame detail

Above: Framed and lined behind glass in wide profile gallery frame

Above: Detail