Scans from Drake's Way (NSFW warning: In addition to cover scans and interior illos from old books and magazines, Drake's blog also contains tasteful photographs of ladies in various states of undress.)
Enabling Curse of Strahd as a Sandbox
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One of the most important things I needed to do for myself to simplify
Curse of Strahd (COS) is related to the book's presentation. It's
presented as a ...
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Posts
I love those covers.
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember reading that Tolkien was actually pretty annoyed about the cover art on the paper backs sold in the US at the time. I think there may even have been squabbles about copyright, too...
ReplyDeleteThose are the unauthorized Ace editions. If you've seen some old covers which state "Authorized Edition" (like my old tore-up Fellowship of the Ring) it is because of these things.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought they were sort of cool covers. They have what we today would call an "oldschool vibe."
Oh, there's were editions that were completely unauthorized, to which he saw no money. He wrote an open letter urging people to buy the authorized version, which actually led to a pretty successful campaign on his behalf by American college kids.
ReplyDeleteJust think... college students fighting FOR copyright law.
Chris: Well, back then, they saw it as big faceless publishers ripping off the small artist, so buying the "authorized editions" was a way of sticking it to the MAN! Besides, it's not like the unauthorized ones were free.
ReplyDeleteI like the art anyway. The very abstract "landscape" covers I grew up with (1970s) were much more... sedate. Which may actually fit the books better, as Tolkein was no Howard, but anyway...
Thanks for the link to Drake's Way - what an eclectic site. Check out the cool illustrations by Clark Ashton Smith. Oh, yeah, the ladies in various states of undress are nice, too.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen those covers before. I like those better than the 'authorized' editions that came out around that time.
ReplyDeletehttp://derhobbit-film.de/collect016.shtml?e
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I think I prefer the Ballantine edition covers myself. They reflect what consider to be the major attraction of the trilogy, which was the setting and the physical and cultural landscape that served as the background. I certainly never read Tolkien for the character development or dramatic structure. Did anyone?
who knew Tolkien could look so good!
ReplyDeleteWhat's with the pegasus rider? Is that supposed to be a Nazgul?
ReplyDeleteAnon: If that's not a Nazgul then I don't know what it is.
ReplyDeleteI love those covers - but not for Tolkien. They did not fit the mood or style of LOTR. But, they'd have looked great on some other fantasy novels!
ReplyDeleteYup! The Famous Ace Pirated edition. Love the cover art.
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome interpretation of Sauron on the third cover. You could make a neat monster out of a gigantic, hooded and robed figure with a single red eye peering out from the center of the hood...
ReplyDeleteThat font ... now where have I seen it before ...
ReplyDeleteOh yeah...
I have the latter two of those, purchased several years ago at a church book sale. My copy of Fellowship is the Ballantine edition, purchased by my father sometime in the late 60s. Having grown up with the Ballantine art it has the most resonance for me but I love both and in general love book cover art from the 60s.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that LotR never had and never would have decent cover illustrations. Clearly, I had not investigated the matter enough. I like those and the Ballantine ones linked to by Anonymous.
ReplyDelete