January 2018 – Literary Art and Illustration

Astounding Science Fiction – July, 1941 (Featuring “Methuselah’s Children”, by Robert Heinlein) [Hubert Rogers]

Illustration by Charles Schneeman, for “The Seesaw”, by A.E. van Vogt (p 61).

“The Seesaw” was the first part of what would eventually be developed, through both short stories and books, into A.E. van Vogt’s “Weapon Shop” stories.

“The Seesaw,” together with “The Weapon Shop” (Astounding Science Fiction, December, 1942) and “The Weapon Shops of Isher” (Thrilling Wonder Stories, February, 1949) would in time become the basis of van Vogt’s full novel – also entitled “The Weapon Shops of Isher” – in 1951, as well as his companion novel The Weapon Makers.

In that context, Charles Schneeman’s art depicts the initial encounter between reporter C.J. (Chris) McAllister of the Gazette-Bulletin, and Lystra, the daughter of a Weapon Shop Owner. The pair are viewing the Imperial City of Isher from the Weapon Shop of Lystra’s father.

Curiously, though time travel is not the focus of the story, merely being a plot element, it is noteworthy that the tale implies parallel time streams, simultaneously commencing upon June 11, 1941, and, “June”, in year 84 of the “4,700th year of the Imperial House of Isher”.

Astounding Science Fiction – September 1950 (Featuring “The Lion and The Lamb”, by Fritz Leiber) [Hubert Rogers]

Illustration by Edd Cartier, for William Morrison’s story “The Sack” (p. 47)

Illustration by Brush, for William T. Powers’ story “Meteor” (p. 109)

Illustration by Brush, for William T. Powers’ story “Meteor” (p. 115)

Astounding Science Fiction – August, 1950 (Featuring “Last Enemy”, by H. Beam Piper) [Ron Miller]

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 13)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 22)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (pp. 34-35)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 45)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 54)

Illustration by Edd Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 79)

Illustration by Edd Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 87)

Illustration by Edd Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 94)

Illustration by Edd Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 101)

Illustration by Brush, for Alfred Bester’s story “The Devil’s Invention” (p. 141)

The Lovers, by Philip José Farmer – 1952 (1982) [Jim Burns]

Hal Yarrow stared through steamshapes into big brown eyes.
He shook his head.
Eyes?
And arms like branches?
Or branches like arms?
He thought he was in the grip of a brown-eyed nymph.
Or were they called dryads?
He couldn’t ask anybody.
They weren’t supposed to know about such creatures.
Nymph and dryad had been delated from all books
including Hack’s edition of the Revised and Real Milton.
Only because Hal was a linguist
had he had the chance to read an unexpurgated Paradise Lost
and thus learn of classical Greek mythology.

Thoughts flashed on and off like lights on a spaceship’s control board.
Nymphs sometimes turned into trees to escape their pursuers.
Was this one of the fabled forest women staring at him
with large and beautiful eyes through the longest lashes he’d ever seen?

He shut his eyes
and wondered if a head injury was responsible for the vision and, if so,
it if would be permanent.
Hallucinations like that were worth keeping.
He didn’t care if they conformed to reality or not.

He opened his eyes.
The hallucination was gone.

– Philip José Farmer –