This rugged barroom shootout scene is a dramatically rendered, Western Americana gouache illustration by the California illustrator Fred Ludekens.
Artist: Fred Ludekens
Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

This rugged barroom shootout scene is a dramatically rendered, Western Americana gouache illustration by the California illustrator Fred Ludekens.
Artist: Fred Ludekens

A large original pen & ink illustration by the important Belle Epoque era poster and book illustrator Louis Rhead. This likely was done for Harper’s or Century Magazine. A great large rendering in the Art Nouveau manner and a rare surviving original illustration work by the great New York based prolific and gifted illustrator and artist.
Artist: Louis Rhead

An important and technically masterful large format cover oil painting by James Avati, for the 1950 Signet books release of Love Knows No Barriers written by Will Thomas
Artist: James Avati

A large format, lurid and iconic paperback cover painting by Verne Tossey that was used as the cover for the 1955 Ace paperback Left Bank Of Desire.
Artist: Verne Tossey

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

A fun and breezy interior magazine illustration for Argosy magazine – July, 1946 by Ray Johnson illustrating a story titled “My Son’s Old Man” by Fred Malina. A classic Americana image featuring a soda jerk performing his then coveted job at a snappy modernist Art Deco styled soda fountain much to the delight of two lovely […]
Artist: Ray Johnson

Teen-Age Gangs was created by Rafael Desoto as cover art for a 1954 Popular Library Paperback Book written by Dale Kramer and Madeline Karr. A gritty defining example which shows a bleak sensationalized, youth gone wild culture, which was to captured the moral panic over juvenile delinquency that was a focal point of American culture […]
Artist: Rafael Desoto

This original gouache painting by Harry Bennett was used as cover art for the Pyramid paperback publication of “Cry Shame” written by Gore Vidal under the pseudonym Katherine Everard. During his early career, Vidal published under several pseudonyms in order to evade the accusation that the rate of his publishing made it impossible for him to be a “serious” literary author. This is a singular opportunity to own an original piece of both illustration art and literary history, from the estate of Charles Martignette.
Artist: Harry Bennett

This original 1920s oil on board by Henry Soulen was likely an interior spot illustration which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. The colorful, boldly painted, Orientalist scene shows a rickshaw and two figures in heated conversation in front of gates of what appears to be San Francisco’s Chinatown. Housed in a simple, original-to-the-painting wood […]
Artist: Henry Soulen

A stylish and decidedly art deco cover illustration for the September 9th, 1939 issue of Liberty magazine, painted by the prolific illustrator Victor Tchetchet. Depicting a Carole Lombard-esque blonde bombshell in a Diana the Huntress mythological pose. Dedicated and inscribed to the fabled Hollywood film producer Otto Preminger, as seen lower right. Painting has been handsomely […]
Artist: Victor Tchetchet
