Ace Doubles: Strong collector appeal (was Ace Double Reviews, 38: Disch/Le Guin)

"Richard Horton" wrote in message
om...
Ace Double Reviews, 38: Mankind Under the Leash, by Thomas M.
Disch/Planet of Exile, by Ursula K. Le Guin (#G-597, 1966, $0.50)

[Readers who want the book review can find the
original thread still current in rec.arts.sf.written.
I sent this posting over to rec.collecting.books,
because it seems likely we have some people
here with an interest in Ace Doubles.]

[...]

One suggestion: When discussing old paperbacks,
it seems to me it is helpful to mention the cover
illustrator(s). In the case of this Ace Double, the
cover for MANKIND UNDER THE LEASH was
illustrated by s.f. great Kelly Freas, while PLANET
IN EXILE was illustrated by another esteemed
artist, Jerome Podwil. Freas' cover, the
blue man with the axe against the yellow-orange
background has a menacing look which suits
the story. Actually, though in general I prefer
Kelly Freas to Podwil, I think this time the
Podwil cover is a more fascinating. It is
not quite as literal as the Freas cover, but
in my view is more thought-provoking.

Anyway, while some might question why
cover illustration is at all significant, it
seems to me that many people who collect
old paperbacks also have an interest in sf
illustration. If they are not, they can
usually find the novels and sthort stories
much easier in cheaper, newer editions.
Perhaps there are people out there who
treasure old s.f. paperbacks yet can't tell a
Kelly Freas from a Richard Powers, but it is
difficult to imagine them.

Since an Ace Double is, almost by defintion,
a collectors' item these days, I thought I would
add my thoughts on the illustrations of this
particular Ace Double. (By the way,
each story also features--on its first page--
an atmosphere-providing ink sketch by Jack
Gaughan, himself another great cover
illustrator.)

By the way, the entirety of this book
certainly is a credit to Ace. Here
we have one small, mass market p.b.,
and it includes stories by two writers
who are now regarded among the best
in the genre, and two covers by two
of the most respected artists in
s.f. illustration, with two wonderful
ink drawings by another great
illustrator thrown into the mix!

Mr. Palmer
Room 314

[...] space saving snip of excellent
comments since they are still
current in newsreaders.

Many collectors are *only* interested in the covers.

---Mike
http://www.booktouronline.com

"palmer.william" wrote in message
...

"Richard Horton" wrote in message
om...
Ace Double Reviews, 38: Mankind Under the Leash, by Thomas M.
Disch/Planet of Exile, by Ursula K. Le Guin (#G-597, 1966, $0.50)

[Readers who want the book review can find the
original thread still current in rec.arts.sf.written.
I sent this posting over to rec.collecting.books,
because it seems likely we have some people
here with an interest in Ace Doubles.]

[...]

One suggestion: When discussing old paperbacks,
it seems to me it is helpful to mention the cover
illustrator(s). In the case of this Ace Double, the
cover for MANKIND UNDER THE LEASH was
illustrated by s.f. great Kelly Freas, while PLANET
IN EXILE was illustrated by another esteemed
artist, Jerome Podwil. Freas' cover, the
blue man with the axe against the yellow-orange
background has a menacing look which suits
the story. Actually, though in general I prefer
Kelly Freas to Podwil, I think this time the
Podwil cover is a more fascinating. It is
not quite as literal as the Freas cover, but
in my view is more thought-provoking.

Anyway, while some might question why
cover illustration is at all significant, it
seems to me that many people who collect
old paperbacks also have an interest in sf
illustration. If they are not, they can
usually find the novels and sthort stories
much easier in cheaper, newer editions.
Perhaps there are people out there who
treasure old s.f. paperbacks yet can't tell a
Kelly Freas from a Richard Powers, but it is
difficult to imagine them.

Since an Ace Double is, almost by defintion,
a collectors' item these days, I thought I would
add my thoughts on the illustrations of this
particular Ace Double. (By the way,
each story also features--on its first page--
an atmosphere-providing ink sketch by Jack
Gaughan, himself another great cover
illustrator.)

By the way, the entirety of this book
certainly is a credit to Ace. Here
we have one small, mass market p.b.,
and it includes stories by two writers
who are now regarded among the best
in the genre, and two covers by two
of the most respected artists in
s.f. illustration, with two wonderful
ink drawings by another great
illustrator thrown into the mix!

Mr. Palmer
Room 314

[...] space saving snip of excellent
comments since they are still
current in newsreaders.