WWI Aviation books cover art

jastaflieger · 3 August 2008, 01:23 PM

I forgot to add the art covers before hitting submit, oops.

jastaflieger · 3 August 2008, 01:36 PM

Here are my last couple for this session, my daughter has now taught me the way to add these attachments from scanning into the computer, so i will try to add some more in the future that i have not seen before: i think the cover Greg van Wyngarden was referring to earlier shows the Navarre piece that he likes so much, and i have to agree on that point!
But i also like the

Frank Luke cover alot, if you look at the cover carefully you will see the colors/light of the exploding ballooon showing through the numerous holes in the fabric of Luke's SPAD- i really like the way the artist did that(the illustrations are by Raymon Naylor)
The book by Marcel Jean-Jean is superb throughout, highly recommended to anyone and everyone.
I thought the Zepp cover and the WHithouse cover struck me as some type of symmetry, who here does not look at that pilot on the Zeppelin Killers and think of themselves and how would i have done as a pilot, always make me think that way anyway.
Anyway, enough cover art from me for one go- i want to sit back and see some others now!
Cheers!
Jim

Gregvan · 3 August 2008, 01:49 PM

Wow!

Great posts by everyone. Now that Pete has opened up this thread to include magazines, 'pulps', and comic books, I could go on posting forever! Yes, Dan is right about that painting on the Airfix modeling magazine having been done by J.D. Carrick, as was "Air Aces of the 1914-1918 War". Pete, if I'm not mistaken, that art for Robert Jackson's "Aces Twilight" looks like the clean, sharp style of Brian Knight; thanks for posting that, I'd never seen it - nor most of the others you've posted.

Jastaflieger, I would like to know if Joseph Phelan is still out there as well; after a flurry of work in the late 1960's, he seems to have disappeared. His Heroes & Aeroplanes of the Great War 1914-1918 was hugely influential on me (and, I suspect, many others).

If we start including Jo Kotula's distinctive covers for Model Airplane News I could use up of the rest of my summer posting. He was a wonderfully prolific artist who cranked out everything from biplanes to spaceships, and I love his atmospheric, moody skies. I would imagine he didn't always have the best reference material, but his work was always terrific:

karrart · 3 August 2008, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregvan

Wow!...
Jastaflieger, I would like to know if Joseph Phelan is still out there as well; after a flurry of work in the late 1960's, he seems to have disappeared. His Heroes & Aeroplanes of the Great War 1914-1918 was hugely influential on me (and, I suspect, many others)....

If we start including Jo Kotula's distinctive covers for [I]Model Airplane News....

Wow indeed. Maybe I'll overcome the urge to sit still on a hot muggy day and scan the back of the Phelan book.
My favorite Kotula MAN cover was a Taube on a billious, infected green sky, and I have it around here somewhere, but due to spending the last week moving all the book cases and reorganizing everything, it'll remianed buried for a few more days.
Robert Karr
OLD BIRDS STAYING ALIVE - THE AVIATION ART OF ROBERT KARR

jastaflieger · 4 August 2008, 04:54 AM

greg,if you look at post 62, i duplicated Pete's , but included the back cover. Mr Kinght sent a copy of that image in a letter , he was a very nice man and a very talented artist.
jim

dpolglaze · 4 August 2008, 07:54 AM

Joseph Phelan was listed on the jacket of Heroes & Aeroplanes as being a member of Cross & Cockade. Don't know if it was of the US or International, but he lived in New York and was at an advertising agency at the time, so probably US, but perhaps both. C&C International may have records. Most of the old records from US C&C are long gone, but they listed members in the journals for some time. Could always track from there with last known address.

Since he was a military illustrator during WWII, he'd likely be in his mid to late 80s by now.

Dan

Gregvan · 4 August 2008, 03:45 PM

Hi All,

Thanks for that whole scan of "Aces Twilight", Jastaflieger. If all of Brian Knight's WWI artwork from the Datafiles and Specials, book covers and Revell model box covers could be gathered together in one book - wow, that would be a book!

Here's one more MAN cover:

Gregvan · 4 August 2008, 04:11 PM

Hi All,

Yes, Dan, you're right. Joseph Phelan's address might be listed in one of those old C & C US Journals. He was a U.S. Navy illustrator in WWII and was an art director for a NY City advertising agency in the late '60's.

Just how many editions (and titles) were there of Phelan's book?

I have a 1970 printing of what I think is the first edition (copyright 1966) titled "Heroes & Aeroplanes of the Great War 1914-1918," (Grosset & Dunlap, NY).The dust jacket is quite different from the one Jastaflieger posted, this one showing four color aircraft profiles from the book.

Then I have a 1973 edition, retitled "Aeroplanes and Flyers of the First World War." I don't have the dust jacket.

Then there's Jastaflieger's edition (I suspect, the last) entitled "Aircraft and Flyers of the First World War."

Seems like they couldn't make up their minds...

Greg

dpolglaze · 4 August 2008, 08:19 PM

Greg et al.,

It does seem the book went through numerous incarnations. I have the first edition 1966 Grossett & Dunlap titled the same as yours, which is in a white dust jacket with four side profiles of airplanes on the front, and the attached rear cover art. It was reprinted in the UK in 1967 by Barker under the same title. It was reprinted by G&D in 1970 with the same title again. Then there is your 1973 Aeroplanes and Flyers from G&D as well. Then there is the Aircraft & Flyers published by Patrick Stephens in 1974. I am also aware of a Penguin Putnam childrens edition from I believe 1973, titled I think Aeroplanes and Flyers of the First World War.

Whew.

Dan

dpolglaze · 4 August 2008, 08:44 PM

And since we've had a few posts without cover art, here's an oldie. I don't know who did it. It's actually a little print affixed to the cover of the book.

And here's the cover art by Simpson that was mentioned earlier

And as always, if you can't see the pictures, refresh or open them in a new window. They're still there. This host doesn't delete like some others, but still has the glitches - perhaps not enough bandwidth...

Dan