Saturday, February 26, 2011

Fontana Cover Cavalcade: John Keay

I know little about John Keay and what is known is confused by the fact that there have been two artists by the same name. I think - but I'm not 100% sure - that the artist who contributed to Fontana was known as Jack Keay but was born John Edwin Keay in Kings Norton in 1907 and died in London in 1996. He was represented by Linden Artists and Thomson Artists.

Then there was a second artist by the name of John R. Keay represented by John Martin & Artists who did various series for Look and Learn in the late 1970s, his work often to be found on the inside front cover on series like 'This Made Headlines' and 'Dateline'.

If anyone has any further information that might help me separate out the two, please let me know. In the meantime, here are a few of Jack Keay's covers for you to enjoy.

Cat by Val Gielgud
Fontana Books 439, 1960

Head of a Traveller by Nicholas Blake
Fontana Books 621, 1961

Crime and Again by Rex Stout
Fontana Books 629, 1962

The Other Side of the Coin by Pierre Boulle
Fontana Books 658, 1962
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1 comment:

  1. Rog' Pile30 Oct 2012, 20:26:00

    I've long admired Keay's cover for John Ross Macdonald Ivory Grin (Pan 1957). It has the detail and luminosity usually remembered from those Look and Learn pages.

    Incidentally, that cover was used as the presenter's background for a BBC series about Hollywood Noir dames.

    I'm not sure if I can link the cover here. I was about to use it in one of my own blog posts. I don't think I've helped with your query about the two Keays...

    Ivory Grin by Keay

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