Covers of the Saturday Evening Post: Seventy Years of Outstanding Illustration

I have given this fascinating book four stars instead of five because it really should have come with a magnifying glass. There are over 3500 covers (in color) from the start of the last century and they are all one and a half inches by two inches, actually they could have been a bit bigger by reducing the generous margins round each cover. Despite the small size there is plenty to enjoy in this well printed book. All the Rockwell's and Leyendecker's are here and into the forties and fifties you can follow Albert Staele's cover paintings of his spaniel Butch, or the regular winter snow scene covers painted by John Clymer. My favourite is Stevan Dohanos, he seemed to delight in cramming in as much detail as possible, offering reader's a reassurance of the familiar and everday. Some publisher should do a book of his Post covers. I was interested to see the covers of the short-lived new look Post from September 61 to June 62, these were created by the famous designer Herb Lubalin but his creative efforts did not impress Middle America and the cover and inside look returned to the regular style. I always thought they looked great and I would love to have these 37 issues in my Post collection (send me an email if you have them) From late 1962 the Post covers were almost all photographic, just like any other mass market magazine and the last weekly issue came out on February 8 1969. This book is a visual record of a unique American publication, just have your magnifying glass handy to enjoy the experience. ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

I think you can tell a lot about someone by what they keep on their coffee table. I happen to have my copy of this masterful volume next to my chess set and my wilting poinsetta...It's nice to see a collection from the Saturday Evening Post that doesn't center on Norman Rockwell--which is why I chose this particular one. I wanted to see the works of the lesser-known artists as well, primarily those of Leyendecker...This is the one book I've found that was thorough enough to include everyone. Though I would love to find a book that presents them as something bigger than a 2x3" thumbnail of the covers.I wouldn't call it a good read, but rather a nice sit-and-lookthrough passtime, sort of like flipping through someone's photo album...