By the late 19th century, western-themed painting evolved into a mythic narrative of frontier life. Artists such as Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, and Karl Bodmer became the genre’s defining figures, focusing on cowboys, outlaws, and rugged wilderness scenes. Somehow, paperback cover artists were never included in this evolution. I think this is a mistake and my choice for the “Cover of the Week” is my evidence.
The cover art for “Lone Hand” by Evan Evans (a pseudonym of Max Brand/Frederick Faust) for its 1951 Bantam paperback edition (#882) features a colorful, classic Western-themed painted illustration, typical of Bantam covers from this era. The artist responsible for this edition’s cover is Earl Mayan, who is known for creating many mid-century paperback and magazine covers, including several other Bantam westerns from the early 1950s.The cover is dramatic and colorful. It fits right in thematically with works by Remington or Russell. The central figure is ambiguous: is he a hero or a villain? Mayan captures the character just as a possible threat emerges off to his right (his eyes are focused there), and his hand is close to his gun, which is displayed prominently. Even the character in the background is looking in that direction. Darker greens of the characters’ clothes fit right in with the reds and tans of the bar. The background is amorphous and filled with smoke. Above all, the image is crystal clear and would pop on the paperback racks of the time (50s).The popularity of Western novels is cyclical, and the cliches of the genre can frustrate many readers, but there are excellent novels in this genre with wonderful cover design. This novel, Lone Hand, is by Max Brand and is, unfortunately, typical of the genre. But the cover art is wonderful, as are many of Bantam’s western covers from the 1960s.
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- More on Earl Mayan
- Bantam Books’ history.
- Covers of Bantam Books at Cover Browser