Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The Art of Reginald Heade (Special Edition)

(* A new edition of this title has been published with some minor changes; see my update at the bottom of this review.)
I reviewed the original edition of The Art of Reginald Heade by Stephen James Walker when it was originally published in January 2017. A bumper compendium of stunning art by one of the best cover artists to grace British books. I said at the time that "this is everything the Heade collector could want," and praised the book for being "astonishingly complete for those covers we know about." Complaints? Some of the images could have been larger and a handful – a small handful – were reproduced from very poor scans.

Well, there is now a Special Edition, which almost doubles the original 168 pages, answering my plea about "wanting more" and fixing most of the reproduction problems with new and better scans. Some images that were small are now larger, notably scarce items such as his colour illustrated Treasure Island, which had 28 plates and a cover spread over not quite two pages, which now appear over eight pages. The reproduction appears better on at least some of the images that have not changed (I've not gone through the whole book with a magnifying glass... but I've gone through some of it).

But the real bonus is the number of additional images, over 400 according to the back cover. While Heade's paperback covers were well represented in the earlier edition, this latest version adds a few previously missing Hamilton and Brown Watson titles, and fills in the gaps left last time in the Timothy Trenton novels published by various printers for Gaywood.

The greatest expansion is probably in reproductions of dust-jackets for adult and children's books. The original book had 18 pages of hardbacks to the Special Edition's 54, and his earliest work displayed now dates back to 1932 rather than 1936. The one thing that might strike you is how accomplished Heade was as an artist from the very start. and how he captured the essence of femininity in his female models. His male models were perfunctory in comparison, usually placed behind the woman who was the focus of the image.

The children's section is expanded from 20 pages to 76, with a great many more reproductions and some interesting examples of unused alternative colour art from a couple of books.

Add a bonus gallery at the end, and the additional 150 pages offer almost a new book's worth of Heade's fantastic artwork. I said in my original review that "To have all these rare book covers in one place fulfills a collector's dream." That now goes (almost) double for the Special Edition.

The Art of Reginald Heade Special Edition. Telos Publishing ISBN 978-1845-83116-5, 24 August 2018, 318pp, £50.

UPDATE - 10 November 2020

The Art of Reginald Heade Special Edition has now been re-released with the slight change in title to add "Vol. 1" to the spine in reference to the simultaneous release of The Art of Reginald Heade Volume Two. The copyright page notes that the reprint has some minor revisions, and it is also worth noting that there is a further improvement to the reproduction of some of the covers, as can be seen in the comparison above. The new printing is on the left, the earlier on the right.

The book is essentially the same – I noticed only one additional image (p.168) – so don't feel that you need to replace your copy if you already have one. However, if you don't have a copy, this is a good opportunity to get this essential book on the art of one of Britain's finest cover artists.

The Art of Reginald Heade Special Edition. Telos Publishing ISBN 978-1845-83116-5, November 2020, 319pp, £50. Available from the publisher or via Amazon.

Rebellion Releases (2000AD)

 Rebellion releases for 12 September 2018.

2000AD Prog 2098
Cover: David Millgate
JUDGE DREDD: THE BOOTH CONSPIRACY by TC Eglington (w) Staz Johnson (a) Abigail Bulmer (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SURVIVAL GEEKS: SLACK N' HASH by Gordon Rennie, Emma Beeby (w) Neil Googe (a) Gary Caldwell (c) Ellie De Ville (l)
THE ORDER: THE NEW WORLD by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
MECHASTOPHELES: TRUE FAITH by Gordon Rennie, Lawrence Rennie (w) Karl Richardson (a) Simon Bowland (l)
GREY AREA: EVERY DIRTY JOB by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

Sunday, September 09, 2018

Terry Wiley (1961-2018)

Terry Wiley, the Newcastle-based artist, died at a hospice in South Shields after a two-year battle with cancer on the afternoon of Saturday, 8 September 2018, aged 56. He is best remembered for his independent comics More Tales From Sleaze Castle and Petra Etcetera. The former won the Comic Creators' Guild Award for Best Small Press comic in 1994, while the latter won the Knockabout Award for Best Independent British Comic at the National Comics Awards in 2001 and was nominated again in 2002.

In 2010, Rich Johnson (Bleeding Cool) named him his favourite comic creator of all in an article titled "The Greatest Comic Creator You May Never Have Heard Of". "His writing reminds me of Alan Moore on BoJeffries Saga and Skizz, of Kieron Gillen on Phonogram, of Roger Langridge on The Muppet Show," said Johnson. "His art a beautiful amalgamation of Paul Grist, Dave Sim, Posy Simmonds, Leo Baxendale, Jamie McKelvie and Bryan Talbot – and he can, if he wishes, imitate many a style. And also he’s a star colourist and letterer."

Brian Talbot said in 2015: “Quite frankly, nobody else produces comic stories that are anywhere similar to Terry Wiley’s. They are unique, well-crafted, character-driven comics, filled with humour, incident and emotion and populated largely by a cast of distinctly individual female characters. In a medium that’s still, in the English-speaking world at least, largely considered by the general public to be dominated by male adolescent power fantasies, Terry’s stories are firmly set outside this geek boy’s locker-room territory.”

Born  in Newcastle upon Tyne on 9 November 1961, he started drawing comics when he was five. Wiley and school friend Adrian Kermode, who met in 1979, created a science fiction strip, "Amoeba's Playtime" for Lepton, the school magazine. In 1983 he converted it into a game for the 48K Spectrum.

Wiley first came to notice with More Tales From Sleaze Castle (later shortened to just Sleaze Castle) (9 issues, 1989-99), written by Dave McKinnon, featuring Jocasta "Jo" Dribble, perpetual student working on an M.A. in Televisual Studies, her family – mum Poppy, hard-drinking sister, Petra – and her friend, albino extra-dimensional Empress of a parallel Earth, Pandadomino "Panda" Quartile, stranded in this realm. The stories meandered from tales of student life at Newcastle University and coping with family crises, to tales of time travel and bizarre encounters with characters such as Ralph (an anteater) and Dweng (a zombie) along the way. It's strong and likeable cast and offbeat storytelling that delighted in surrealistic interludes, earned the comic a steady following.

Released under their own Gratuitous Bunny Comix imprint, it was held back by an irregular schedule, with often over a year between issues. The strip has been reprinted a number of times, including a 3-volume Director's Cut (1995-96; recently reprinted by Markosia in 2016). 

While More Tales was still running, McKinnon and Wiley launched Tales of Sleaze Castle (4 issues 1993-94), a prequel, collected as The Director's Cut #0 (1996; reprinted 2013). Petra, Jo Dribble's younger sister, found solo fame in her own rather more real-world stories, Petra Etcetera, written by Wiley's schoolboy friend Adrian Kermode, first as a back-up in Sleaze Castle and then a 3-issue series (1999-2001); an epilogue written by Kermode in 2005 eventually appeared in a complete edition of the series (2010), a year after Kermode's untimely and early death in 2009. 

The complete sequence – the four-volume Director's Cut and the complete Petra Etcetera, was reprinted as the 480-page The Incomplete Final Cut by Markosia in 2012. There were a number of spin-off comics, including Good Morning Vietgrove (1994), Surreal School Stories (6 issues, 1995-98), a penny-dreadful format of text and illustrations, and Characters! What Are They Like, Eh? (1996).

Wiley later created another comedy soap opera, VerityFair, featuring talented 40-something actress Verity Bourneville, described by Wiley as "a mess, a loudmouth, waver of hands, a pain in the neck, a cack-handed, bath-singing, confabulating pest; she makes up words and forgets to tell anyone what they mean." Verity first appeared in The Girly Comic #19 and the first issue of the comic was serialised on Factor Fiction, the website for The Girly Comic from March 2010.

VerityFair was reviewed by Ed Fortune (here), who thought it Wiley's best work: "The art is strong, the characters are interesting and the plot, though slow, is fun and clever. The tale of one women’s journey through a tough world is never going to fly off the shelves; comic book fans aren’t famed for their love of domestic drama, which is a real shame as it means they’ll miss out on a great read."

VerityFair ran for 6 issues (May 2010-2014) and was gathered together with additional material in two digital volumes VerityFair 1: Custard Creams (2013) and VerityFair 2: Pink Elephants (2014) and a print edition, VerityFair (Borderline Press/Fanfare Press, 2015).

Wiley was a contributor to Super State Funnies (1997) and Borderline ("Miffy", 2001-03). He drew "Trip Into Space" to the Image anthology This is a Souvenir: The Songs of Spearmint and Shirley Lee (2009) and lettered Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, Jane Eyre and other titles for Classical Comics. His work also reprinted in two anthology collections of The Girly Comic: The Girly Comic Book 1 (2012) and The Girly Comic Book 2 (2012).

Wiley continued to support conventions and small press events into 2017.

He is survived by his fiance, Cindi Geeze, who, when announcing his death, revealed that he had been battling cancer of the brain for two years. "He kept the severity of it from everyone, including me, leading us all to believe that he was getting better, that he was beating it. But that’s just how Terry was. He didn’t want to worry anyone. He didn’t want anyone fussing over him. This gentle soul wanted to protect those he loved from the pain and stress of his impending departure from this life. We only knew that things were dire in the last couple of months as his decline started to gain speed."

UPDATE: A very small selection of tributes that have appeared on Facebook and Twitter:

Saturday, September 08, 2018

Harold Piffard

HAROLD PIFFARD
by
Robert J. Kirkpatrick

Harold Piffard was, almost certainly, the only illustrator who also designed, built and flew his own aircraft. It is this for which is he is now remembered, and as an illustrator – he contributed to around 20 periodicals and illustrated at least 175 books in the late 1890s and early 1900s – he is completely forgotten.

He was born on 10 August 1867 at 33 Blandford Square, Marylebone, London, and named Harold Hume Piffard. His father, Charles Piffard (1829-1884) was born in Bengal, and had a career as a barrister, which culminated with his appointment as Clerk of the Crown at the High Court in Calcutta. His mother, Emily Hume (1837-1911) was born in Chelsea – her grandfather was Joseph Hume, an M.P. and political economist. She and Charles had married in Calcutta on 1 June 1858, going on to have four children there: Frederick George Eye (1859-1931); Albert James Guerard (born in 1861 – he became a member of the Royal Indian Marines and, after serving for nearly 30 years, retired in 1907, and died in 1915); Hamilton Adrian Balfour (born in 1862 – he became an actor, dying in Switzerland in 1927); and Reginald Denman Francis (born in 1863 – he joined the Merchant Navy and died in London in 1902).

The family came to London in the mid-1860s, and, before Harold’s birth, had another son, Lawrence Grahame Woodroffe, in 1865. In the 1871 census, only Hamilton and Reginald are present (living with Louisa Bradshaw, a nurse, at 10 Beaumont Street, Marylebone – there is no trace of the other family members, so they may have returned to India.

However, it is known that Harold and his brother Lawrence both entered Lancing College in Sussex, in September 1877, both leaving in July 1888. Harold, nicknamed “Piff” by his fellow-pupils, was rather restless and reckless. In an article in the Lancing College Magazine in 1999, the school’s archivist, Janet Pennington, wrote that, at the age of 12, and being keen on dramatics, “he absented himself from Lancing one winter Sunday afternoon and walked to London, arriving on the Tuesday. He tried all the theatres and music halls, unsuccessfully seeking employment. He slept on the Embankment for several nights before returning to face the wrath of the headmaster…..”

After leaving Lancing, he travelled to India in February 1884, where he worked on a tea plantation, returning to London in 1889, when he entered the Royal Academy Schools. He settled for a while at 5 Fitzroy Square, St. Pancreas, which was his address when he exhibited his first oil painting at the Royal Academy in May 1895. A month after the exhibition opened, he travelled to Scotland where, on 1 June, at St. John’s Free Church, Dundee, he married Helena Katherine Docetti Walker, born in Perth, Scotland, in 1872 and the daughter of Peter Geddes Walker, a J.P. and jute spinner and weaver, and his wife Meta, née Docetti.

The couple moved to 29 Cambridge Avenue, Maida Vale, where they had their first child, Harold Reginald Grahame Sherard, born on 28 May 1896 (he died in Flanders in 1917). They then moved to 18 Addison Road, Bedford Park, Ealing, West London, where they had three more children: Dorothy Helen (March 1898), Ivan Adrian (November 1899), and Grahame Lawrence (October 1900). Unfortunately, it appears that Grahame’s birth may have involved serious complications, as Helena died shortly afterwards, on 27 November 1900, and Grahame himself died on 12 February 1901.

Just over a year later, on 8 January 1902, Harold married Eleanor Margaret Hoile, at the Chapel Royal of Scotland in Edinburgh. Born on 17 April 1871 in Dundee, she was the daughter of John Hoile, a jute and flax merchant. They went on to have one child, Hume, born on 28 July 1905 at 178 High Street, Aberdeen.

In the meantime, Harold had firmly established himself as an artist and illustrator. He had exhibited twice more at the Royal Academy, in 1897 and 1899, and with the Royal Society of British Artists.

His career as an illustrator appears to have begun in January 1894, when he contributed to Lazy Land, published by William Lucas. In April that year he began contributing to The Strand Magazine, and he went on to contribute to several more periodicals throughout the rest of the 1890s, including In Town, Pearson’s Weekly, The Sunday Magazine, The Windsor Magazine, The Illustrated London News, The Osborne, Cassell’s Family Magazine, Pearson’s Magazine and The Penny Pictorial Magazine.

His first book illustrations appeared in 1895, in three novels published by the Tower Publishing Company, and in novels published by C. Arthur Pearson and S.W. Partridge & Co. Over the following four years he illustrated at least a further 20 novels, and from 1900 onwards he became remarkably prolific, illustrating 7 books in 1900, 7 in 1901, 18 in 1902, 11 in 1903, 12 in 1904, 19 in 1905, 23 in 1906 and 17 in 1907. He became most closely associated with the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) for whom he illustrated almost 70 novels between 1902 and 1912. He also worked for publishers such as F.V. White & Co., Digby, Long & Co., Cassell & Co., Ward, Lock & Co., Isbister & Co. and Frederick Warne & Co.

Amongst the authors whose books he illustrated were Richard Marsh, George Manville Fenn, Max Pemberton, Bertram Mitford, Guy Boothby, Frederick Harrison, Bessie Marchant, Emily Pearson Finnemore, George Chetwynd Griffith, J.M. Neale and Harry Collingwood. His work covered a wide range of genres, for both childen and adults – historical, adventure, seafaring, school and family stories, romantic novels, thrillers and detective stories and, occasionally, science fiction and the supernatural. In 1908 he began working for Collins on their series of re-issues of  classic novels, which included Thackeray’s The Virginians, Vanity Fair and The Christmas Books; Mrs Henry Wood’s A Life’s Secret; Dickens’s Edwin Drood; and George Eliot’s Felix Holt, the Radical.

Some of his most powerful illustrations were produced for Robert Harborough Sherard’s The White Slaves of England, Being True Pictures of Certain Social Conditions in the Kingdom of England in the year 1897, published by James Bowden in 1897. Most chilling was the frontispiece, “Done to Death”, showing the dead body of 19 year-old Elizabeth Ryan in the Newcastle Workhouse – she had died of white-lead poisoning after working in a local factory for only four months.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, he rarely contributed to children’s annuals and similar books, although it is known that his work appeared in Collins’s Schoolgirls’ Bumper Book and The Victory Adventure Book.

He also began contributing to more periodicals after 1900, including The Quiver, Good Words, Short Stories, The London Magazine, The Idler, The Royal Magazine and Cassell’s Saturday Journal. He was also a minor author, with several local newspapers serializing his story "The Mystery of the Damascus" in 1905.

He was also painting in both oils and watercolours. Two of his best-known paintings were “The Relief of Ladysmith”, painted in 1900, and “The Real Angel of Mons”, painted in 1915/16. In 1916, many newspapers gave away free colour plates of a series of war pictures, including “The Real Angel of Mons” and others such as “Daddy’s Away” and Daddy Returns”, all sentimental but nevertheless powerful. Between 1918 and 1920 he ran a picture gallery at 7 Pelham Street, Kensington. He usually signed his work “Piffard”.

While Piffard was at the peak of his career as an illustrator he was also developing an interest in aviation, beginning with designing and constructing model aeroplanes at his studio in Bedford Park. In 1909 he set out to build a full-size plane, which he transported in sections to a playing field on Hanger Hill Farm, North Ealing. Whilst it flew for a short distance, it was destroyed during an overnight storm. Piffard immediately began designing and building another, this time deciding to fly it from a field at Shoreham, Sussex, close to Lancing College. He teamed up with a solicitor, George Wingfield, to establish the Aviators’ Finance Company Limited, which leased some land and built a hangar. Piffard’s plane, “Hummingbird,” a box-kite biplane, first flew from there in the spring of 1910. Piffard’s activities attracted a lot of interest as well as cynicism – a local pub landlord offered him a crate of champagne if he could fly the length of the field, which Piffard duly collected even though his plane was damaged on landing.

Piffard made several adjustments to his plane, and made several more short flights, despite crash-landing a few times, but in October 1910 he crashed again and his plane was damaged beyond repair. He immediately decided to build a plane which could take off from water. He returned to Shoreham in the summer of 1911, where he utilized a disused lifeboat shed on the beach to put together a hydroplane fitted with air bags. While its early trials on the water were successful in terms of its buoyancy, it eventually capsized and sank. Unable to raise the money to carry on, he was obliged to retire from aviation. In the meantime, the field he had rented at Shoreham had become the Shoreham and Brighton Aerodrome, the first airport in the UK to be granted a commercial license.

(For more on Piffard’s early endeavours and on Shoreham Aerodrome, see A Brief History of Shoreham Aviation)

Piffard subsequently did very little in the way of illustration. In 1917 he began contributing to Canada in Khaki, a three-part periodical celebrating Canadian troops’ role in the First World War, but hardly anything by him after that is recorded, other than a contribution to The Wide World Magazine in 1927, and some illustrations for a story by Winifred Norling in 1935.

Piffard and his wife remained at 18 Addison Road until Piffard’s death, which occurred at St. Thomas’s Hospital, Lambeth, on 17 January 1939. He left an estate valued at £3,328 (around £185,000 in today’s terms). He was buried in Old Chiswick Cemetery, alongside his first wife, Helena, their son Grahame, and Harold’s brother Reginald. (N.B. The gravestone incorrectly gives Harold’s date of death as 1938). His second wife Eleanor moved back to Scotland, where she died at 145 High Street, Montrose, on 20 December 1953.

For someone as prolific as Piffard, as both a painter and illustrator, it is astonishing that he is not better-known. Yet he has been almost completely whitewashed from all the major reference books – he merits only two lines in Simon Houfe’s Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists: “Military painter and illustrator. He worked in Bedford Park, London, and was a prolific illustrator in the style of Caran d’Ache.” (d”Ache, i.e. Emmanuel Poiré, was a French satirist and political cartoonist). This is a travesty – he was not a military artist, and his style was far from being in the nature of cartoon-like or caricature. He deserves far more recognition.


PUBLICATIONS

Books illustrated by Harold Piffard
Valdar the Oft-born: A Saga of Seven Ages by George Chetwynd Griffith, C. Arthur Pearson, 1895
Sibyl Falcon: A Study in Romantic Morals by Edgar Jepson, Tower Publishing Co., 1895
Zoraida: A Romance of the Harem and the Great Sahara by William Le Queux, Tower Publishing Co., 1895
Jim’s Discovery, or On the Edge of the Desert by T.M. Browne, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1895
In Quest of a Name by Mrs Henry Wylde, Tower Publishing Co., 1895
The City of Gold: A Tale of Sport, Travel and Adventure in the Heart of the Dark Continent by Edward Markwick, Tower Publishing Co., 1896
A Secret Service by William Le Queux, Ward, Lock & Bowden, 1896
The Missing Million by E. Harcourt Burrage, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1897
The Birthright: Being the Adventurous History of Jaspar Pennington by Joseph Hocking, Ward. Lock & Co., 1897
The Crime and the Criminal by Richard Marsh, Ward, Lock & Co., 1897
The Queen of the Jesters and Her Strange Adventures in Old Paris by Max Pemberton, C. Arthur Pearson, 1897
When the Birds Begin to Sing by Mrs Winifred Cory, C. Arthur Pearson, 1897
The White Slaves of England, Being True Pictures of Certain Social Conditions in the Kingdom of England in the Year 1897 by Robert Harborough Sherard, J. Bowden, 1897
The Dacoit’s Treasure, or In the Days of Po Thaw: A Story of Adventure in Burma by Henry Charles Moore, W.H. Addison, 1897 (re-issue)
Her Royal Highness’s Love Affair by J. Maclaren Cobban, C. Arthur Pearson, 1897 (cover)
Jungle and Stream, or The Adventures of Two Boys in Siam by George Manville Fenn, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1898
The Lost Provinces by Louis Tracy, G. Bell & Sons, 1898
Tom Ossington’s Ghost by Richard Marsh, Bowden & C., 1898
The Destined Maid by George Chetwynd Griffith, F.V. White & Co., 1898
Athabasca Bill: A Tale of the Far West by Bessie Marchant, Sheldon Press, 1899
The Rose of Judah: A Tale of the Captivity by George Chetwynd Griifith, C. Arthur Pearson, 1899
The Signors of the Night by Max Pemberton, C. Arthur Pearson, 1899
The Ruby Sword: A Romance of Baluchistan by Betram Mitford, F.V. White & Co., 1899
The Day of Temptation by William Le Queux, F.V. White & Co., 1899
The Weird of Deadly Hollow: A Tale of the Cape Colony by Bertram Mitford, F.V. White, 1899 (re-issue)
An Aristocratic Detective by Richard Marsh, Digby, Long & Co., 1900
Barcali, The Mutineer: A Tale of the Great Pacific by C. Dudley Lampen, R.A. Everett & Co., 1900
Kate Cameron of Brux, or The Feud by J.E. Muddock, Digby, Long & Co., 1900
A Great Temptation by Dora Russell, Digby, Long & Co., 1900
John Ames, Native Commissioner: A Romance of the Matabele Rising by Bertram Mitford, F.V. White & Co., 1900 (re-issue)
Britain’s Sea-Kings and Sea-Fights by Bertram Robinson, Cassell & Co., 1900 (with other artists)
Griffith Gaunt, or Jealousy by Charles Reade, Collins, 1900 (re-issue)
The Giant’s Gate: A Story of a Great Adventure by Max Pemberton, Cassell & Co., 1901
Dick Dale, the Colonial Scout: A Tale of the Transvaal War of 1899-1900 by Tom Bevan, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1901
Between the Lines: A Detective Story by Burford Delannoy, Ward, Lock & Co., 1901
My Indian Queen by Guy Boothby, Ward, Lock & Co., 1901
Farewell, Nikola by Guy Boothby, Ward, Lock & Co., 1901
Bitter of the Rue by Helen Shipton, Isbister & Co., 1901
A Honeymoon in Space by George Griffith, C. Arthur Pearson, 1901 (with Stanley L. Wood)
The Peril Finders by George Manville Fenn, S.P.C.K., 1902
The Frozen Treasure: A Tale of Arctic Russia by Charles Dudley Lampen, S.P.C.K., 1902
A Bid for Empire by Arthur Griffiths, Digby, Long & Co., 1902
The Boys of Spartan House School: A Story of School and Adventure by Frederick Harrison, S.P.C.K., 1902
The Lover Fugitives: A Romance by John Finnemore, G. Bell & Sons, 1902
Robert Miner, Anarchist by Henry Barton Baker, Ward, Lock & Co., 1902
A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days by Dorothea Townshend, S.P.C.K., 1902
Earncliffe of Errington by F.B. Forester, S.P.C.K., 1902
Frank Denham, Foreman, or The Light of Life by anon., S.P.C.K., 1902
The Pagan’s Cup: A Country Story by Fergus Hume, Digby, Long & Co., 1902
Dahlia Peploe’s Reaping by Emily Pearson Finnemore, S.P.C.K., 1902
Worth While by Annette Lyster, S.P.C.K., 1902
Venus Victrix and Other Stories by Helen Mathers, Digby, Long & Co., 1902
Lady Joan’s Companion by Florence Warden, Digby, Long & Co., 1902
The Will and the Way by Catherine E. Mallandaine, S.P.C.K., 1902
The Daughter of the Dawn: A Realistic Story of Maori Magic by William Reginald Hodder, Jarrold & Sons, 1902
Bear Cavern by Edward Sylvester Ellis, Cassell & Co., 1902
My Strangest Case by Guy Boothby, Ward, Lock & Co., 1902
Fitz the Filibuster by George Manville Fenn, S.P.C.K., 1903
The Head-Hunters of Christabel: A Tale of Adventure in the South Seas by Alfred Penny, S.P.C.K., 1903
The Boys’ Book of Battles by Herbert Cadet, C. Arthur Pearson, 1903
Spurs and Bride: How They Were Won by Gertrude Hollis, S.P.C.K., 1903
The Mark of Cain by Emily Pearson Finnemore, S.P.C.K., 1903
The New Tutor by Frederick Harrison, S.P.C.K., 1903
A Step in the Dark by Catherine E. Mallandaine, S.P.C.K., 1903
Frank Warlegh’s Holidays by Achilles Daunt, S.P.C.K., 1903
Carita by Eyre Hussey, Jacob, 1903
Theodora Phranza, or The Fall of Constantinople by John Mason Neale, S.P.C.K., 1903 (re-issue)
Living London by George R. Sims, Cassell & Co., 1903 (with other artists)
Harter’s Ranch by F.B. Forester, S.P.C.K., 1904
Mr Quixley of the Gate House by Percy James Brebner, Frederick Warne & Co., 1904
The Witches of Westover Cove: A Story of the South Coast by E.E. Cowper, S.P.C.K., 1904
Nell Garton by Jessie Challacombe, S.P.C.K., 1904
Enderly Park: A Tale by F. Bayford Harrison, S.P.C.K., 1904
Constance’s Fortune by A.E.D., S.P.C.K., 1904
Yew Tree Farm: A Story of a Separate Career by Bessie Marchant, S.P.C.K., 1904
Mary Louisa Quayne, or A Belated Love Affair by Emily Pearson Finnemore, S.P.C.K., 1904
Home Fetters by Raymond Jacberns, S.P.C.K., 1904
The Evil That Men Do by M.P. Shiel, Ward, Lock & Co., 1904
Miss Brent of Mead by Christabel R. Coleridge, Isbister & Co., 1904
The Broken Vow: A Story of Here and Hereafter by W.J. Knox Little, Isbister & Co., 1904 (re-issue)
Rupert Dudleigh: A Story of Old Brighton by Frederick Harrison, S.P.C.K., 1905
The Mysterious Mr Punch: A School Story by G.E. Farrow, S.P.C.K., 1905
Duchenier, or The Revolt of La Vendée by John Mason Neale, S.P.C.K., 1905
The Silver Pin by Alfred Wilson-Barrett, Ward, Lock & Co., 1905
The Coplestone Cousins by Amy Key, S.P.C.K., 1905
A Little Princess: The Story of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Frederick Warne & Co., 1905
The Haunted Mill on Birley River: The Story of a South Coast Creek by E.E. Cowper, S.P.C.K., 1905
The Jackal by Coulson Kernahan, Ward, Lock & Co., 1905
The Great Ruby: A Tale of Adventure by T.W. Hanshaw, Ward, Lock & Co., 1905
The Fall of the Grand Sarrasin: Being a Chronicle of Sir Nigel de Bessin, Knight by William John Ferrar, S.P.C.K., 1905
For Love of Her by Buy Boothby, Ward, Lock & Co., 1905
The Conquering Will by Silas K. Hocking, Frederick Warne & Co., 1905
Ben Pipe’s Sowing by Emily Pearson Finnemore, S.P.C.K., 1905
Rosamund’s Girls: A School Story by M. Bramston, S.P.C.K., 1905
Mona: A Manx Idyll by Esmé Stuart, Jarrold & Sons, 1905
The Man with the Opals by Alfred Barrett & Austin Fryers, Ward, Lock & Co., 1905
Stories of the Crusades by J.M. Neale, S.P.C.K., 1905 (re-issue)
Le Chevalier de Maison Rouge by Alexandre Dumas, Collins, 1905(?) (re-issue)
Round the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, Collins, 1905 (re-issue)
Meshes of Mischance by Gilbert Wintle, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
Dick Leslie’s Luck: A Story of Shipwreck and Adventure by Harry Collingwood, S.P.C.K., 1906
A Queer Affair by Guy Boothby, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
The Race of Life by Guy Boothby, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
Sealed Lips by Marie Connor Leighton, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
Cold Blow Corner by Phoebe Allan, S.P.C.K., 1906
The Counterstroke by Ambrose Pratt, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
Grit and Pluck, or The Young Commander by William Charles Metcalfe, S.P.C.K., 1906
Daybreak: A Story by J.E. Henderson, S.P.C.K., 1906
The Aerial Burglars by James Blyth, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
The Gold Hunters by W.J. Marx, S.P.C.K., 1906
Granfer Garland by Phoebe Allen, S.P.C.K., 1906
The House Over the Way by Alfred Wilson-Barrett, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
The Eagles by Paul Urquhart, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
Under One Standard, or The Touch That Makes Us Kin: A Story of the Time of the Maori War by H. Louisa Bedford, S.P.C.K., 1906
Agnes de Tracy: A Tale of the Times of St. Thomas of Canterbury by J.M. Neale, S.P.C.K., 1906
The Luck of Haviland, or Hayland’s Waste by Theodore Corrie, S.P.C.K., 1906
The Counterstroke by Ambrose Pratt, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
The Disappearance of David Pendarve by E.E. Cowper, S.P.C.K., 1906
The Polyphemes: A Story of Strange Adventures Among Strange Beings by F. Hernaman-Johnson Ward, Lock & Co., 1906
Hunting the Skipper, or The Cruise of the “Seafowl” Sloop by George Manville Fenn, S.P.C.K., 1906 (re-issue)
The Silence of Dean Maitland by Maxwell Gray, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1906 (re-issue)
Dead Man’s Rock by Arthur Quiller-Couch, Cassell & Co., 1906 (re-issue)
The Kingmakers by Armiger Barclay, Cassell & Co., 1907
Frank and Fearless, or Adventures Amongst Cannibals by William Charles Metcalfe, S.P.C.K., 1907
Philip Okeover’s Page-hood: A Story of the Peasants’ Rising by Gertrude Hollis, S.P.C.K., 1907
Darling of Sandy Point by Bessie Marchant, S.P.C.K., 1907
Geoffrey Harrington’s Adventures by Harry Collingwood, S.P.C.K., 1907
Barbara’s Behaviour: A Story for Girls by M. Bramston, S.P.C.K., 1907
The General and His Daughter by Frances Armstrong, S.P.C.K., 1907
The Ordeal of Susannah Vantham by Emily Pearson Finnemore, S.P.C.K., 1907
The Forgotten Door: A Tale of A.D. 70 by Frank Cowper, S.P.C.K., 1907
Naomi’s Transgression by Darley Dale, Frederick Warne & Co., 1907
Wilful Jenny by E.B., S.P.C.K., 1907
The Story of Dorothy by L.E. Tiddeman, S.P.C.K., 1907
Crags of Duty by Emilie Vaughan Smith, S.P.C.K., 1907
Why Jane Matcham Disappeared by Michael Carane, Ward, Lock & Co., 1907
In Cause of Freedom by Arthur W. Marchmont, Ward, Lock & Co., 1907
The Devil on Two Sticks by Alain René Le Sage, Sisley’s 1907(?)
Verner’s Pride by Mrs Henry Wood, Collins, 1907 (re-issue)
Heroine or ? by Isabella L. Looker, S.P.C.K., 1908
Blown Out to Sea by William Charles Metcalfe, S.P.C.K., 1908
Diana’s Decision by Alice Wilson Fox, S.P.C.K., 1908
The House with Dragon Gates: A Story of Old Chiswick in 1745 by E.E. Cowper, S.P.C.K., 1908
London in the Sixties by One of the Old Brigade (i.e. Donald Shaw), Everett & Co., 1908
The Virginians by W.M. Thackeray, Collins, 1908 (re-issue)
A Sack of Shakings by Frank Thomas Bullen, Collins, 1908 (re-issue)
De Montfort’s Squire: A Story of the Battle of Lewes by Frederick Harrison, S.P.C.K., 1909
The Marquis’ Heir: A Tale of the Early Years of the French Revolution by Arthur Holland Biggs, S.P.C.K., 1909
Reuben the Fisherman: A Lowestoft Romance by William Webster, S.P.C.K., 1909
Dick Trawle, Second Mate by William Charles Metcalfe, S.P.C.K., 1909    `e
Mr Punch and Party by H. Louisa Bedford, S.P.C.K., 1909
Harum Scarum’s Fortune by Esmé Stuart, Jarrold & Sons, 1909
For the Sake of Kitty by Christina Gowans White, Collins, 1909
Elise Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Collins, 1909 (re-issue)
Legends and Lyrics by Adelaide Anne Proctor, Collins, 1909 (re-issue)
Odin’s Treasury by William Victor Cook, S.P.C.K., 1910
Jenkyn Cliffe, Bedesman by Gertrude Hollis, S.P.C.K., 1910
The White Elephant by William Dalton, Collins, 1910(?) (re-issue)
Felix Holt the Radical by George Eliot, Collins, 1910 (?) (re-issue)
Mabel Vaughan by Maria Cummins, Collins, 1910(?) (re-issue)
A Life’s Secret by Mrs Henry Wood, Collins, 1910(?) (re-issue)
Gems from Longfellow, Collins, 1910(?) (re-issue)
Two Marriages by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, Collins, 1910(?) (re-issue)
The Doctor: A Study from Life by H. De Vere Stacpoole, Collins, 1910(?) (re-issue)
Redwood Ranch by Bessie Marchant, S.P.C.K., 1911
The Story of Helen by M.F. Hutchinson, S.P.C.K., 1911
Study Number Eleven: A Tale of Rilton School by Margaret Kilroy, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1911
The House of the Oak by Henry Albert Hinkson, S.P.C.K., 1911
Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray, Collins, 1911 (re-issue)
Brandon Chase: A Tale of East Anglia by William Webster, S.P.C.K., 1912
Gentleman Jack: An Adventurer in East Africa by Henry Albert Hinkson, S.P.C.K., 1913
Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens, Collins, 1914 (re-issue)
Christmas Books by W.M. Thackeray, Collins, 1925(?) (re-issue)
The Riddle of St. Rolf’s by Winifred Norling, Hutchinson & Co., 1935

Friday, September 07, 2018

Comic Cuts - 7 September 2018

I've had a mixed week. On the positive side, I've had some contact with someone who has been able to iron out a few wrinkles that I had over the career of Harry "Iron Mask" Bensley. Putting out the new edition of the book has already paid! I spent a couple of days trying to nail down evidence of new information and a lot more time than I should have trying to follow branches of Benley's family tree.

All of it was rather ephemeral to the main story, but it was fun nonetheless. I do enjoy researching these things... it's a puzzle where all the pieces are laying face down and you're not sure whether all the pieces are there or, thanks to mistakes and information being wrongly transcribed, whether they're not missing, just hidden. Getting any sort of picture out of it at the end of the day is hard work, but incredibly satisfying.

I received copies of the new trade paperback (6 x 9-inch) version of the Iron Mask book and I have to say that I thought it looked great. Createspace make a nice job of printing these things. It's a shame that the chance of this becoming a bestseller are so close to zero you couldn't push a hair into the gap – which, of course, means that I'll never achieve any "economies of scale" with the printing costs.

C'est la vie. That's probably the price I pay for enjoying writing the book so much I've written it twice!

I survived the trip to the dentist on Friday; it meant that I didn't need to go into town on Saturday when "Invasion Colchester 2018" was underway. The photographs I posted on Sunday were from Mel. I needed to get cracking with some gardening anyway, wielding the hedge-trimmer as if it were a light-sabre to try and make it feel like I was having fun. (It worked. I'm easily amused.) The gardening spilled over into Sunday, but the results of just a couple of hours work in the morning were remarkable. Mind you, I think we were both paying for it by Sunday evening, with aching backs and knees. This getting old sucks.

So, plonked down in front of the TV (which is what has caused the unfitness in the first place), I've managed to finish the third season of The Expanse and watch the whole of (Tom Clancy's) Jack Ryan. The first brought the original Expanse trilogy (Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, Abaddon's Gate) to a conclusion. I've only read the first novel, but I'm told the TV series stuck fairly closely to the through-plot of the novels.

I've enjoyed the whole series but this third part was a bit static. It's one of the few science fiction shows that hark back to the old pulp days of SF, grand in scale and fast-moving. Once the various groups found themselves trapped together (I'm trying not to give away any spoilers!) the pace also slowed. Not to the point where the show dragged (a problem I'm finding with the second season of Quantico, which I'm part way through, but taking a pause), but I wouldn't have wanted to watch  it weekly, as it was designed to be show. Working from home I have the option of watching an episode daily, which is definitely the best way for this season. I'm glad the show will return, thanks to Amazon Prime. Now, if only they'd do the same for Hap and Leonard, I'd be a happy man.

Jack Ryan was fine. It didn't have anything in it that we've not seen before, although the plot had a couple of twists where I thought "If I were them, I'd do that" and, bless 'em, that's what they did... making them as twisted (in a good way) as I am. I don't think it had the tension of Homeland, which it probably most resembles, but was good enough. I'm not sure if the character Jack Ryan is developed in the books, having never read them, but he seemed a little all over the place in the TV series. I appreciate that character moments are usually the first to be dropped if a show is overrunning, but he seemed to turn from kindly and compassionate to being unpleasant and nasty at the whim of the plot rather than as a natural development of his personality.

Random scans are a bunch of science fiction novels that I've picked up over the last few months.

 
 
 

Thursday, September 06, 2018

Commando 5155-5158

Brand new Commando issues are out today! Face the heat of a Type 100 flamethrower in the Burmese jungle, dodge deadly foes in the English Channel, stampede away from the Sicherheitsdienst, and claim the claymore! It’s all in a week’s work for our Commandos!

5155: The Pact
Havildar Dilawar Khan, a sergeant in the Indian Army, pushed the Type 100 flamethrower away from his face, its flames licking at him and the Japanese soldier as they fought for control.
    But Dilawar had something more than survival to fight for, he had a duty to protect his unit and the pact he had made…

Story |Heath Ackley
Art: Manuel Benet
Cover: Manuel Benet

5156: Sea-Strike

Stan Turner of Air-sea rescue had a really dicey job, snatching ditched pilots from the hungry English Channel… sometimes under the very muzzles of the guns on the enemy coast. Then there was always the dangerous trip back to base, dodging shells and bullets as the launch leapt over the waves to bring its precious cargo safely home.
    But one dark night, Stan was ordered out on a very different task. His cargo, a bunch of tough Commandos. His mission, to attempt what no other Air-sea rescue launch had ever dared.

Story: R. A. Montague
Art: D S Gomez
Cover| Ian Kennedy
Originally Commando No. 560 (June 1971). Reprinted No. 1539 (September 1981).

5157: Agents at War
SD Standartenfuhrer Rudi Reinstein smiled to himself, thinking he had just duped a dumb American into being a spy for the Nazi cause. But as he reached into his unusually light briefcase and found underwear in the place of his important Nazi documents, he realised it was him who had been duped!
    And so the race was on to catch agents, Ben Hawkins and Doris Blythe, before they escaped Poland!

Story: George Low
Art: Morhain and Rezzonico
Cover: Ian Kennedy

5158: The Cutting Edge
THE PLACE – The Atlantic Ocean.
THE TIME – 1944-45. The Second World War.
THE RIVALS – Cousins. One a sailor and one an airman.
THE TARGETS – German U-Boats. As many as they could sink in their own ways.
THE PRIZE – A mighty claymore which had been in the family for generations.
Now follow the actions of these two men on the cutting edge of the war against U-boats!

Story: Roger Sanderson
Art: Olivera
Cover: Ian Kennedy
Originally Commando No. 2864 (March, 1995).

Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Rebellion Releases (2000AD)

Rebellion releases for 5 September 2018.

2000AD Prog 2097
Cover: Neil Googe/Gary Caldwell (col)
JUDGE DREDD: THE BOOTH CONSPIRACY by TC Eglington (w) Staz Johnson (a) Abigail Bulmer (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SURVIVAL GEEKS: SLACK N' HASH by Gordon Rennie, Emma Beeby (w) Neil Googe (a) Gary Caldwell (c) Ellie De Ville (l)
THE ORDER: THE NEW WORLD by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
MECHASTOPHELES: TRUE FAITH by Gordon Rennie, Lawrence Rennie (w) Karl Richardson (a) Simon Bowland (l)
GREY AREA: EVIDENCE by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

Sunday, September 02, 2018

Invasion Colchester 2018

This year's Invasion Colchester took place on Saturday. 1 September. For the first time in some years I missed it, having decided to do my usual Saturday shopping on Friday while I was in town to visit the dentist.

However, Mel was in town and took some pictures, which I'm happy to present here.









 










Saturday, September 01, 2018

Nat Long

NAT LONG
by
Robert J. Kirkpatrick

Nat Long had a 30-year career as a commercial artist and illustrator, although much of his work appears to be uncredited and unrecorded. He was, perhaps, best-known for a number of covers and dustwrappers for, mainly, thriller and crime novels in the 1930s and 1940s, and for his illustrations for editions of Tom Brown’s Schooldays and The Coral Island in 1948. It is also known that he had a long association with the publishers Birn Brothers, who specialized in greeting cards and postcards and cheap children’s story and picture books.

He was born on 12 January 1893 in Christchurch, Bournemouth (then in Hampshire), and named Nathaniel John Long. His father, also named Nathaniel, was a general labourer, born in Bournemouth in 1873, one of several children of Matthew and Emily Long. Nathaniel senior married Levina Ann Curtis in Christchurch in early 1892, but he appears to have been a rather unpleasant character. The Bournemouth Guardian reported on 6 August 1892 that he had been fined 5 shillings for drunkenness, and the same newspaper reported on 6 January 1894 that he had been bound over to keep the peace for 12 months after being convicted of fighting. Later that year, The Southern Echo (18 October) reported that he had been charged with threatening to kill his wife, although the Magistrate’s Bench declared that his wife was nearly as much to blame – he has ordered to pay costs and bound over for two months.

This appears to have led Nathaniel and his son to move to Southwark, London. On 24 October 1898 Nathaniel junior was enrolled in Waterloo Street School, Southwark (with his address given as 61 Hodson Street), and on 27 June 1899 he was enrolled at Pocock Street School, having moved to Warwick Street, Southwark. Father and son remained in Warwick Street for the next few years, although not without further trouble – in February 1901 Nathaniel senior, still working as a labourer, was convicted of disorderly conduct and assaulting two police constables, and was jailed for 21 days with hard labour (The South London Press, 16 February 1901).

By 1904, he and his son had returned to Bournemouth, where in June 1904 he, along with his younger brother George (born in 1887) were found guilty of a breach of the peace and ordered to pay costs (The Western Gazette, 24 June 1904).

At the time of the 1911 census, the young Nathaniel was working as a page at a boarding house at 9 Chine Road, Bournemouth. However, later that year he enrolled at the Bournemouth West School of Science and Art in Poole Hill, Bournemouth.

His career as an artist was temporarily postponed by the outbreak of the First World War. He joined the 1/4th Battalion of the Royal Hampshire Regiment and served as a signaller in Mesopotamia and Persia between 1915 and 1918. During his time overseas he practiced his art, and in February 1920 he exhibited around 60 black and white drawings and watercolours, produced when he was in the Far East, at his old college (by then the Bournemouth Municipal College). Later that year he married Rose Helen Turner, born on 18 January 1895, the daughter of John Turner, an auctioneer, in Christchurch. They subsequently moved to 12 Ashgrove Road, Bromley, Kent, where they remained until the mid-1930s.

It is not known exactly when Long established himself as an illustrator. His earliest-known work was a series of illustrations for Cassell & Co.’s The New Magazine and Cassell’s Magazine in 1928, and the Amalgamated Press’s The Corner Magazine and The Thriller in 1929. His work also appeared in Little Folks in the early 1930s. At roughly the same time he began providing dustjackets for a variety of publishers, including Hurst & Blackett, John Long, Collins, Jarrolds and the Eldon Press. He was less prolific as a book illustrator, with his earliest illustrations appearing in a horror/mystery story by Walter S. Masterman in 1932. He signed his work wither “Nat Long” or “NL.”

He also produced a handful of etchings and aquatints in the 1930s, art deco portrayals of nude young women in boats or on water.

At the time of the 1939 Register Long and his wife (they appear to have had no children) were living at 10 Stone Road, Bromley, with Long described as a “Commercial Artist and Illustrator.” He also had a studio at 5 New Court, Carey Street, between around 1930 until at least 1948.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s he illustrated a handful of children’s books, including an abridged edition of Tom Brown’s Schooldays for W. Foulsham & Co. (which had a dustwrapper by G.W. Goss). He was equally at home illustrating adventure stories as he was fairy stories and other books for younger children, and it is surprising that he didn’t illustrate more books. However, it may be that much of his work was unsigned and uncredited – it is known that he worked for Birn brothers in the early 1950s, and several of their titles for young children carry Long-style illustrations. It is also thought that he provided the eight colour plates in Flights into the Future, an anthology of science fiction stories for children by authors including Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle, published by the Thames Publishing Company in 1948. Rather strangely, however, some of his plates did not illustrate the stories but rather showed the British Interplanetary Society’s plans for a moon landing.

His work also appeared in a number of large-format children’s books such as The Modern Book for Boys, The Splendid Book for Boys, Boys’ Sporting Stories and Popular Stories for Girls, all published by Birn Brothers.

In the 1940s he provided around 9 covers for the magazine Britannia and Eve, and in 1948 he provided the cover for the first and only issue of Amorous Confessions, published by Rayburn Productions.

His main work throughout the 1940s and early 1950s was the production of dustjackets and, more importantly perhaps, covers for paperbacks. Between 1941 and 1944 he designed numerous covers for C. Tinling & Co.’s series of cheap novelettes for women, and he went on to produce many more covers for publishers such as T.A. Pemberton, the Archer Press, Martin & Reid and Curtis Warren, from around 1949 onwards specialising in covers for Westerns.

He appears to have stopped working towards the end of 1953, either because of ill health or because of a declining market for the type of fiction he was illustrating. He died, at Guy’s Hospital, London, on 5 October 1955, leaving an estate valued at £7,153 (around £170,000 in today’s terms). His wife died in a nursing home in Horsham, Sussex, on 6 December 1975, leaving £9,106.

Nat Long was a versatile if not first-rate artist. He could turn his hand to a variety of genres and styles, although his work for older children had a certain stilted and simplistic quality. His best work was arguably that which he did for younger children, where his style of cheerful colour was well-suited, and his dustwrappers and paperback covers for adult novels. (The list of dustwrappers and covers which follows is undoubtedly very incomplete, but it does give a flavor of the various genres he was asked to illustrate).


PUBLICATIONS

Books illustrated by Nat Long
The Flying Beast by Walter S. Masterman, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1932
Stories of Detection ed. by R.W. Jepson, Longmans, Green & Co., 1939
Essays and Sketches by A.J. Merson, Longmans, Green & Co., 1939
Peter Darington, Seaman Detective by Douglas V. Duff, Thames Publishing Co., 1948
A Tale About Timothy by Lindie Leigh, Partridge Publications, 1948
Flights into the Future by various authors, Thames Publishing Co., 1948
Jack and the Beanstalk, Birn Brothers, 1948
Tom Brown’s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes, W. Foulsham & Co., 1948 (re-issue)
The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne, W. Foulsham & Co., 1948 (re-issue)
Conquerors of the Air by Harry Harper, Thames Publishing Co., 1948 (cover)
My Favourite Story, Thames Publishing Co., 1949 (with other artists)
Picture Pages from Britain’s History, Raphael Tuck & Sons, (1940s?)
The Best Term Ever by Cecilia Falcon, Thames Publishing Co., 1952
The Mystery of Torland Manor by Aylmer Hall, George G. Harrap & Co., 1952
In the Footsteps of Jesus by Rev. Leighton Houghton, Purnell, 1965 
Horses and Ponies of the World by Phyliss Briggs, 1966

Covers and dustjackets
Sunblinds by Phyllis Austin, Literary Press, (date?) (re-issue) (paperback)
Misty Angel by Oliver Sandys, Hurst & Blackett, 1930 (paperback)
I Like a Good Murder by Marcus Magill, Alfred A. Knopf, 1930
The Screen of Life by N. Wheatcroft Holmes, Wright & Brown, 1931
Drums in the Night by Clements Ripley, Hurst & Blackett, 1931
The Philosopher’s Murder Case by Jack Randall Crawford, John Long, 1932
The Shadow on Mockways by Marjorie Bowen, Collins, 1932
The Yellow Fiend by W. J. Elliott, Mellifont Press, 1932 (paperback)
Tremaine of Texas by W.D. Hoffman, Eldon Press, 1933
Rhodesian Farm by Jane England, Hurst & Blackett, 1933
The Flying Argosy by Arthur J. Rees, Jarrold & Sons, 1934
Half Sisters by Hebe Elsna, Hurst & Blackett, 1934
Riding the High Country by Patrick T. Tucker, Philip Allan 1936
Men Against Peril by Stanley Snaith, Obros Press, 1936
Kill in the Ring by John Haslette Vahey, Collins, 1938
Blood of the North by James B. Hendryx, Jarrold & Sons, 1938
Conquerors of the Air by Harry Harper, Thames Publishing, 1940
Outlaws of Paradise Valley by Thornton Hill, Eldon Press, 1940
(Many covers for Women’s 2½d Novels, Women’s 4½d Novels, Women’s 6d Novels, C. Tinling & Co., 1941-44, paperbacks)
Men are Scarce by Helena Gross, Collins, 1943
Escape to Eternity by W.B.M. Ferguson, John Long, 1944
Miss Streamline by Constance M. Evans, Mills & Boon, 1944
The Harvey Girls by Samuel Hopkins Adams, John Long, 1944
Tales of the Turf  by Captain X, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1944
It Happened in Cairo by Kathlyn Rhodes Hutchinson & Co., 1944
Steps to Murder by Robert Portner Koehler, T. A. Pemberton, 1944 (paperback)
Love at the Crossroads by Margaretta Brucker, T. A. Pemberton, 1944 (paperback)
The Cinema Crimes by John Creasey, T. A. Pemberton, 1944 (paperback)
Hail McLean! By George Goodchild, Hodder & Stoughton, 1945
One from Five and Murder’s Out of Tune by John W. Lee, Halle, 1946
Ace of the Diamond Deuce by Chuck Stanley, Quality Press, 1946
Death Wears a Scarab by Amelia R. Long, Quality Press, 1946
Hard-Hearted Lover by Olive Baxter, Wright & Brown, 1946
Dream Come True and Other Stories by J. Radford Evans, Pictorial Art, 1946 (paperback)
She Danced Into His Heart and Other Stories by Pat Futrelle, Pictorial Art, 1946
The Case of the Missing Lady and Other Stories by R. Thurston Hopkins, Pictorial Art, 1946 (paperback)
Corpses Can Walk and Other Stories by R. Thurston Hopkins, Pictorial Art, 1946 (paperback)
Death of a Critic and Other Stories by William Norman, Pictorial Art, 1946 (paperback)
Maid of Honour by Paul Sabre, Pictorial Art, 1946 (paperback)
The Sign of Blood by Penny Street, Pictorial Art, 1946 (paperback)
Too Many Murderers by George Childerness, T. A. Pemberton, 1946 (paperback)
Murder in a Madhouse by C. B. Molyneaux, T. A. Pemberton, 1946 (paperback)
Murderess? by Pearl Bellairs, T. A. Pemberton, 1946 (paperback)
Watching Eyes by T. C. Bridges, T. A. Pemberton, 1946 (paperback)
The Unknown Mr. Alias by John Cathcart, T. A. Pemberton, 1946 (paperback)
Temptation by Hedley Richards, T. A. Pemberton, 1946 (paperback)
Lovers Choice by Margaretta Brucker, T. A. Pemberton, 1947 (paperback)
There Goes the Bride by Margaretta Brucker, T. A. Pemberton, 1947 (paperback)
Stranger’s Child by Juliet Armstrong, Mills & Boon, 1947
Fireway by Thornton Hill, Eldon Press, 1947
Love at the Crossroads by Margaretta Brucker, T. A. Pemberton, 1948 (paperback)
Puma Pistoleers by Lee Floren, Archer Press, 1949 (paperback)
Sonora Stage by Lee Floren, Archer Press, 1949 (paperback)
The Crimson Highwayman by William Dawson Hoffman, Archer Press, 1949 (paperback)
Hampton of the Water-Guns by William Dawson Hoffman, Archer Press, 1949 (paperback)
The Maverick Man by William Dawson Hoffman, Archer Press, 1949 (paperback)
Tracker Teague of Texas by William Dawson Hoffman, Archer Press, 1949 (paperback)
Frontier Sheriff by John Theydon, Curtis Warren, 1949 (paperback)
Texas Guns by Jesse Reed, Curtis Warren, 1949 (paperback)
American Western by Rex Noland and three others, Grant Hughes, 1949 (paperback)
Renegades’ Rendezvous by John Theydon, Martin & Reid, 1949 (paperback)
Gun Branded by L & W Townsend, Martin & Reid, 1949 (paperback)
Ridin’ High by L & W Townsend, Martin & Reid, 1949 (paperback)
Six Gun Serenade by Buck Rogers, Martin & Reid, 1949? (paperback)
Tenderfoot Trail by Buck Rogers, Martin & Reid, 1949? (paperback)
Payoff at Pine Bluff by Buck Rogers, Martin & Reid, 1949? (paperback)
Trouble at the Double X by Buck Rogers, Martin & Reid, 1949? (paperback)
The Painted Lady by Buck Rogers, Martin & Reid, 1949? (paperback)
Killers of Snake Creek by Tex Carter, Martin & Reid, 1950? (paperback)
Border Feud by Tex Carter, Martin & Reid, 1950? (paperback)
Outlaw Feud by Webb Anders, Curtis Warren, 1950? (paperback)
Fighting Rangers by J. A. Jordan, Curtis Warren, 1950 (paperback)
Outlaw’s Pass by Hank Larsen, Curtis Warren, 1950 (paperback)
Rustlers Creek by John Theydon, Curtis Warren, 1950 (paperback)
Six Gun Trail by John F. Watt, Curtis Warren, 1950 (paperback)
Rustler’s Frontier by Hank White, Curtis Warren, 1950 (paperback)
Rim Rock Range by Hamilton Craigie, Archer Press, 1950 (paperback)
A Gentleman from Texas by William Dawson Hoffman, Archer Press, 1950 (paperback)
The Hawk of the Mesquitals by William Dawson Hoffman, Archer Press, 1950 (paperback)
Riders of Devil’s Fork by Glenn Morton, Hamilton & Co., 1950 (paperback)
The Man From Sonora by William Hopson, Brown Watson, 1950 (paperback)
Border Bonanza by Walker A. Tompkins, Brown Watson, 1950 (paperback)
Everything is Quite Alright by Wendell Wilcox, Brown Watson, 1950 (paperback)
Bandit’s Trail by Tex Faro, Curtis Warren, 1952 (paperback)
Border Feud by Chuck Adams, John Spencer, 1953 (paperback)
Guns of Ghost Town by Chuck Adams, John Spencer, 1953 (paperback)
Gunsmoke Breed by Tex McCoy, Edwin Self, 1954 (paperback)

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