How to identify this Alfred Hitchcock artist?

April 23, 2006 9:30 AM

My friend has about eight original paintings that were used as the cover art for some Alfred Hitchcock mystery books published by Dell in the 1970s. I've tried an Internet search but can't locate the name of the artist. Can anyone help me out? (More inside . . . )

The books' titles are on the back of the paintings, but the artist didn't sign or date them (with the exception of one dated piece: "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Slay Ride," 1971). The other titles listed on the back of the paintings are: "Scream along with Me," "More Stories My Mother Never Told Me," "Sixteen Skeletons in My Closet," Anti-Social Register," "Alfred Hitchcock's Bleeding Hearts," "Once upon a Dreadfull Time," and "I Want My Mummy."

I feel like an idiot for not being able to find the name of the artist. Thanks for any help you can offer!

posted by mijuta to media & arts (8 comments total)

Have you contacted the publisher? The artist might have been on staff for them, or they hired a freelancer. They might be your best bet for tracking that person down. Good luck.
posted by 45moore45 at 9:37 AM on April 23, 2006

Some more information: Later editions of these books were published with different cover art. My friend believes this particular artist did the covers only in the early 1970s, probably 1971-1972.

45moore45: Thaanks for your comment. My friend worked for Dell at the time. He said they always used freelance artists for the Hitchcock books. He doesn't know anyone on staff anymore. For what it's worth, Dell was throwing away (!) all the paintings in the mid-1980s. My friend managed to rescue some of them, as did a couple other people. But he doesn't know where the other people are today.
posted by mijuta at 9:47 AM on April 23, 2006

all I have so far is this: Great cover art by Banbury! but it's for a 1964 ed. which is out of your time range, right?
posted by carsonb at 9:55 AM on April 23, 2006

Buy one of the books?
posted by fire&wings at 10:27 AM on April 23, 2006

Yeah, if you could track down a copy of one of the books that used one of the paintings (ebay/alibris/etc. beckon!), the artist's name might be listed either on the back cover or on the copyright page.
posted by scody at 10:49 AM on April 23, 2006

If you posted pictures of these, someone might recognize the artist...
posted by interrobang at 10:51 AM on April 23, 2006

A big publisher like Dell will most likely have a library, with a copy of each of their editions of each of their books and, if you're lucky, a helpful librarian too.

If you can get their phone number then they'll probably look at the book for you and give any info within. Might save you buying a copy or tracking one down.
posted by selton at 10:52 AM on April 23, 2006

Thank you for all of your comments. My friend said the artist is not credited in the books. But I'll try touching base with Dell to see if they can help me out.

Banbury is not the same artist, but thanks for the lead.

If talking to Dell proves fruitless, I'll take photos and post them here to see if anyone can recognize the artist by his work.
posted by mijuta at 3:34 PM on April 23, 2006