Comments on: How to identify this Alfred Hitchcock artist?

Question: How to identify this Alfred Hitchcock artist?

mijuta — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:30:24 -0800

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!

By: 45moore45

45moore45 — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:37:30 -0800

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.

By: mijuta

mijuta — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:47:07 -0800

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.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:55:08 -0800

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?

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:27:39 -0800

Buy one of the books?

By: scody

scody — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:49:03 -0800

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.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:51:17 -0800

If you posted pictures of these, someone might recognize the artist...

By: selton

selton — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:52:06 -0800

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.

By: mijuta

mijuta — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:34:10 -0800

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.