WWI Aviation books cover art

Gregvan · 22 August 2009, 05:10 PM

Far less convincing is this Saturday Evening Post cover from July 21, 1917! The artist seems to have been very ill-informed about national insignia, let alone aircraft types and structure. I'm not sure what countries are represented here.

Ricardo Reis · 23 August 2009, 02:29 AM

After all Bigles is indeed important in more ways than good covers...

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Tayside and Central | Biggles story saved crash pilot

Gregvan · 23 August 2009, 07:09 AM

Thanks for posting that, Ricardo! Great story. Hurrah for Biggles!

Brez · 26 August 2009, 05:04 AM

O.K. not great art and, apologies if it's been shown before, but a bloody good read. I've had this copy for 40 odd years and it's getting a bit tatty.
bloody april.jpg Views: 33 Size: 50.1 KB">bloody april.jpg

dpolglaze · 31 August 2009, 08:55 AM

Been out of town for a few days. No new covers.

Here are a couple pulps:

March 1932 Wings by Rudolph Belarski (reprint copy color not the best)

June 1932 War Aces by unknown

More book covers coming soon.

Dan

dpolglaze · 3 September 2009, 12:27 PM

unknown artists

Wellman is perhaps best known as a director, including "Wings"

I have a contemporary promo brochure for "Wings" around somewhere, signed by Wellman. It looks pretty much like the dustjacket of the book, but if it's any different, I'll dig it up and post too.

Watson may have done the art. He did do the illustrations in the book

I'd say I'm just getting started, but that wouldn't be true. I have more to come if people keep wanting to see.

Dan

Gregvan · 3 September 2009, 02:21 PM

By all means, keep 'em coming, Dan!I love them, and haven't seen many of the covers you've posted before.

Greg

karrart · 3 September 2009, 05:54 PM

Wellman naturally made me think "movies". This may not exactly be WW I, but it's close. It's a little 5"x6 1/2" souvineer/program. Glossy paper, about 32 pages. It explains how the movie was made with some ok photos and "now playing at two of the leading theatres on Broadway, New York".... all that good stuff. Also says the movie needs five times the normal electrical power to project on the special "magnascope screen" and nine extra amplifiers are needed for the airplane and Zeppelin sounds.
The things been around for decades. Don't know why it's here.
Robert Karr
allright already-loan it an eyeball:
RK’s Pfalzhood - Pfalz, Halberstadt, Nieuport, CAMEL!!!

Romani · 5 September 2009, 02:45 PM

I've managed to borrow "Aces High" by Alan Clark again, the 1999 illustrated edition. And in this full moon night, I want to share with you this terrific atmospheric painting, I think the artist is Michael Turner, I have seen his work somewhere else, maybe in The Aerodrome gallery?

Gregvan · 6 September 2009, 08:28 PM

Hi All,

Yes, Romani, that's Michael Turner. His work has been featured often on this forum, and in many books such as "Aces High". Nice stuff...

I mentioned this book before here. It's edited by Jim Winchester, but is actually a collection of those "Aviation Fact File" cards you used to see all over.

I'm straying a bit off from the "cover art" topic here, but this art is at least in the book. It contains many fine studies by Iain Wyllie, whose work we've mentioned before, appearing on many of the old Osprey covers. This one should make Ginger happy;

Mick Mannock doing his thing:

Here's a very nice Rumpler C.I. I've always appreciated Iain's clean, uncluttered yet dramatic style. Kind of like the best work of Brian Knight: