This interesting piece of art was sent to us by a friend, Leonardo, and it comes from Brazilian publisher Record for Raymond Chandler’s Perolas dao azar. The book comprises three Chandler stories, “Pearls Are a Nuisance,” “Finger Man,” and “The King in Yellow,” plus his crime essay, “The Simple Art of Murder.” If you’re an avid reader of old literature, “The King in Yellow,” may sound familiar. It was the name of an 1895 anthology by Robert W. Chambers, the best-selling U.S. author of the latter half of the nineteenth century, and the source of certain motifs used in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Chandler’s story isn’t supernatural, but it does allude to Chambers’ work.
The cover art is by Robert McGinnis and was previously used on Shell Scott’s 1971 novel Dig That Crazy Grave. Around then Record began spicing up some of its paperbacks with McGinnis art. We don’t know if he was compensated for his work. We’ve talked about this issue before, but long story short, we just can’t see an economic win for Record in buying McGinnis’s art. In a country as big as Brazil some artist could have painted a nice cover—and cheaply. Probably more cheaply than licensing art from McGinnis. We don’t know how it all worked, so we’re not saying Record stole the art, but still, you have to wonder. Thanks for sending this over, Leonardo.
