Time once again for more Vintage Mystery Covers. If you read this blog then you know I'm not only crazy about Vintage Mysteries, but also about the wonderfully graphic covers that usually accompanied them once upon a time. I'll look for any excuse to post some vintage covers. This time out, I'm posting Great Vintage Agatha Covers as an entry in the monthly Agatha Christie Carnival hosted by Kerrie Smith over at her blog, MYSTERIES IN PARADISE. Every month various bloggers post Agatha Christie opinion pieces, reviews, covers or anything else Agatha-related that strikes their fancy. I hope you'll take a look.
Love them, especially Dead Man's Folly. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne. Eventually I think I'm going to run out of old covers to post, but until then, I'll just keep plugging alone. :)
ReplyDeleteForgot about Parker Pyne.
ReplyDeleteI just love these vintage covers. I wish I find a cover artist to do a kind of parody of this style.
ReplyDeleteLove those covers.
ReplyDeleteI am the hugest Agatha fan. I saved almost a complete collection of dime store copies of Agatha (and some hardback too). They were *this close* to going to Goodwill and I saved them (along with a hundred or more vintage mysteries) grocery cart by grocery cart out of a third floor apartment, into my car and then into my house. And then to the store to buy several more bookshelves! None of them have monetary value and some are quite tattered but the covers are priceless. I'm going to see how many of your covers that I have.
ReplyDeleteThe cover for "Murder at the Vicarage" is seriously creepy. "Dead Man's Folly" looks like the quintessential Agatha Christie cover, while the versions featuring horrified women don't look like Christie at all to me. Love seeing them all. Keep posting!
ReplyDeleteFantastic! I haven't read Agatha Christie in years and years but downloaded a few the other day. Can't wait to read them.
ReplyDeleteI love these covers. I love finding old gems like these at book sales. (beat up, of course, so I can afford them :))
ReplyDeleteThese are great covers. I like the Parker Pyne one, but many are so dramatic. They pull you right into the mood.
ReplyDeleteSo, I ask, why are so many of today's mystery book covers so darn flat and boring? I wonder if artists have run out of ideas, or if publishers think with computer design so common, that fancy fonts will do the job.
I do sometimes see (and posted here and elsewhere) very attractive covers, so I know it's possible. But so many copy designs and graphics. I wonder what the problem is nowadays.
What amazing covers! they look like the books should be American pulp fiction of the 50s not Christie. Dead Man's Folly is the only one that looks even vaguely Christie-like. Thanks for posting them.
ReplyDeletePatti: Me too. :) I read these many years ago but for whatever reason, I don't reread Pyne.
ReplyDeleteJacqueline: Oh you can find several, but the fees might be prohibitive. There are portfolio websites all over the place. If you're serious, I can send you in the right direction. :)
Ryan: Ditto! :)
BookBelle: Sounds like you have a great collection! I have the THREE BLIND MICE one saved. My old paperbacks fell apart so I saved some of the covers. I have quite a few. I plan on doing a collage with them at some point before they erode further. Probably sometime this year. Of course I'll post the results on the blog. Who knew there were still this many Agatha Christie fans? :)
ReplyDeleteCarol: Thanks! I will definitely keep posting vintage covers as I find them. DEAD MAN'S FOLLY is one of my favorites, I've posted it before. If you check out the Vintage box on the left sidebar, you can go back though the posts and find some other vintage covers. I love 'em.
ReplyDeleteYes, the women in jeopardy covers are very 'pulpy'.
Pickygirl: I'm sure you'll enjoy them all once again. I reread her all the time. Sometimes, nothing but an Agatha will do. ;)
ReplyDeletestacybuckeye: I do the same thing! As I mentioned above, I have a nice collection of paperback covers saved for which I have plans. Stay tuned. :)
Kathy: the problem is lack of daring and imagination. Also, I think that publishers don't want to pay for good art since maybe they're paying the writer such big bucks. Or maybe it's just that covers are not seen as being all that important what with the advent of e-books. Who knows? There ARE still some great covers out there, but they are few and far between.
ReplyDeletelyn: You're welcome. I agree: they are amazing. Some very 'pulpy' comic book graphic, some more in keeping with the Chrisite writing style. I love the DEAD MAN'S FOLLY one, it's one of my favorites. But they're All fun. It's like walking down illustration and design memory lane to see these.
ReplyDeleteYou should do a collage that you can use as a table top (with glass cover, of course). I can totally see it as a coffee table conversation piece.
ReplyDeleteBookBelle: It's a good idea, certainly. I could see it as a table top as well. I haven't yet decided. A tray would be nice as well, except that I have enough covers to do more than one tray. Lots to think about...
ReplyDeleteGreat fun! I was lucky enough to be given a box of all Christie's works in glorious classic paperback by a friend's mother who was having a clear out. I love them! I wonder how many of these things will be around in 50 years time. Mid-twentieth century British paperbacks are getting very crumbly now, however you store. All that post war economy and the original disposable premise means these things are definitely not built to last.
ReplyDeleteJuxtabook: I don't think they'll last, except for the covers, maybe. Some of mine literally fell apart. There's not much to be done about it, unfortunately. But once upon a time, they were beautiful everyday books that everyone took for granted. I doubt anyone thought people in the future would be interested in 'throwaway' books. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteI love them, too.