H.P. COVER CRAFT

Look, but only if you dare.

Above, two awesome covers for H.P. Lovecraft’s classic horror tales The Dunwich Horror and The Weird Shadow over Innsmouth (plus other stories), printed by Bart House, a New York City-based publisher that got its name from the structure that was its home—the Bartholomew Building on East 42nd Street. Lovecraft wrote Dunwich and Innsmouth in 1928 and 1931, but these editions appeared after his death—in 1945 and 1944 respectively. Lovecraft is an author most recognize, but surprisingly few have actually read. He’s sort of the horror version of The Godfather movies—everyone knows all about them, but it’s incredible how few have actually sat through them. If you don’t know his writing, his style can admittedly make for a difficult read. Plus there’s not much emotional payoff—his heroes generally face mind-bending horrors that simply can’t be beaten, which means you have to get used to them awaiting an inevitable death or going insane. But that’s one reason we like him more and more as time goes by—in this post-millennial era, what is more appropriate than a battle against forces too powerful to beat, too complex to comprehend, and too corrupt to look upon without losing every shred of your own goodness?

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1924—Dion O'Banion Gunned Down

Dion O’Banion, leader of Chicago’s North Side Gang is assassinated in his flower shop by members of rival Johnny Torrio’s gang, sparking the bloody five-year war between the North Side Gang and the Chicago Outfit that culminates in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

1940—Walt Disney Becomes Informer

Walt Disney begins serving as an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI, with instructions to report on Hollywood subversives. He eventually testifies before HUAC, where he fingers several people as Communist agitators. He also accuses the Screen Actors Guild of being a Communist front.

1921—Einstein Wins Nobel

German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is awarded the Nobel Prize for his work with the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon in which electrons are emitted from matter as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation. In practical terms, the phenomenon makes possible such devices as electroscopes, solar cells, and night vision goggles.

1938—Kristallnacht Begins

Nazi Germany’s first large scale act of anti-Jewish violence begins after the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan. The event becomes known as Kristallnacht, and in total the violent rampage destroys more than 250 synagogues, causes the deaths of nearly a hundred Jews, and results in 25,000 to 30,000 more being arrested and sent to concentration camps.

1923—Hitler Stages Revolt

In Munich, Germany, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in the Beer Hall Putsch, an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government. Also known as the Hitlerputsch or the Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch, the attempted coup was inspired by Benito Mussolini’s successful takeover of the Italian government.

1932—Roosevelt Unveils CWA

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveils the Civil Works Administration, an organization designed to create temporary winter jobs for more than 4 million of the unemployed.

A collection of red paperback covers from Dutch publisher De Vrije Pers.
Uncredited art for Hans Lugar's Line-Up! for Scion American publishing.
Uncredited cover art for Lesbian Gym by Peggy Swenson, who was in reality Richard Geis.

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