Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
The 1961 cover painting for the Beacon Book title Wild Body was created by an as-of-yet unidentified American artist. This novel by Manning Clay first appeared in digest form in 1953, our gallery also has that earlier cover painting available for sale. This lurid sleaze pulp fiction offering promises a wild ride — with more […]
Artist: Unknown American Artist
From the estate of the American artist James Lunnon, this is an unsigned proposed Black Mask pulp cover painting which was slated for publication in May of 1940. The yellow left side field is a telling trait and was unique to the title – this format was used between January 1937 to April of 1940, […]
Artist: James Lunnon
Two squared jaw toughs slug it out as a pretty redhead damsel in distress looks on in this classic pulp cover painting for sale at Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
Artist: Mel Phillips
Harry Barton painted this steamy gouache illustration for use as the cover of 1952’s Tender Hearted Harlot by Val Munroe. Published as a pulp digest, novella length story that takes place on the San Francisco waterfront and follows the proclivities of the young, bold and beautiful Ginny Parrish who… “is a gambler to the core – but the one thing she won’t bet on is love…” Sounds like a real page turner! The painting is in pristine condition and has been nicely matted and framed under glass, a copy of the published digest is included in the sale.
Artist: Harry Barton
This dazzling and otherworldly painting by Virgil Finlay appeared on the cover of the July 1954 issue of Fate magazine, a special issue solely focused on the powers of Hypnotism. A scarce original pulp cover illustration from this long running title, this was for many years part of the storied collection of Robert Weinberg. Work is nicely matted and framed […]
Artist: Virgil Finlay
The Main Attraction is a large, colorful, and very well-executed 1930s art deco-era fine art oil painting by the Lithuanian-American artist Jack Levitz. A Jewish immigrant who settled in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Levitz’s social realist/Ashcan School style recalls George Luks and Everett Shinn. This oil on canvas shows a seedy New York City theater, with a writhing burlesque dancer bathed in […]
Artist: Jack Levitz
This dark and mesmerizing oil painting was created as cover art for the 1955 Pyramid paperback book title For I Have Sinned – The Confession Of A Paris Streetwalker by Ruth Sachs. The image shows a pretty brunette perched at her vanity as she readies herself to face the darkness hidden in Paris, the city of light. The […]
Artist: Attributed to Victor Olson
This oil on illustration board Pyramid Books paperback cover painting was created by by Victor Olson for a 1953 edition of Houseboy by Edison Marshall written under the nom de plum Walton Fairbank (ostensibly because of the controversial topic of interracial relationships explored in the title).The story was originally written as a Jim Crow title in the late […]
Artist: Victor Olson
Unquestionably, Carney’s Burlesque was one of the weirder cover offerings from the lurid sleaze paperback publishers Uni-books; a reissue of a British pulp story that changed both the name of the protagonist and author to Steve Harragan. Uni-books created the private eye Harragan character out of thin air, the only thing connecting him from one adventure […]
Artist: Walter Popp
This uninhibited and seedy painting by Raymond Johnson appeared as the cover of the 1953 Avon Books Paperback edition of The Untamed Wife Of Louis Scott. Originally published in 1950 under the title The Gift Of Glory, this W. Carrol Monroe novel told the story of Susan Scott, a dope fiend hedonist living a wanton life in post war America. Though […]
Artist: Raymond Johnson
