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> Cover artists add a lot to a book and this is especially true in the field of science fiction. A.E. van Vogt's books had more varied, high-quality artwork adorning their covers than most of those of his fellow writers, and I'm glad to be able to share with you here a selection of over 200 scans of American and British books and magazines from my own collection.

Be sure to read this fascinating interview with Gerry Daly,
creator of some of the finest covers ever to grace SF books.
Favorite covers
————————————————————————————————————

> The covers are sorted by type — Fiction, Magazines, Anthologies, Non-Fiction, and Miscellany. Items in each category are sorted alphabetically. Each hyperlink goes to the JPG by itself so you can simply click on a title to view the cover. All scans are shown at slightly larger than the actual covers to better show detail, with no loss in picture quality.
> (For those who are curious about the file-naming system I've used, the explanation is on a separate page. It's a bit involved, so if you have no genuine interest in understanding this, you can safely ignore it.)
> Nineteen of these covers I consider my favorites and have written special commentaries on what makes them so great. However, only thirteen commentaries are up at the moment — I will add the rest as time permits. If you click on any link below, it will take you to just the picture. To read the commentaries, it would be simplest to go straight to the Favorite Covers page.
> On another part of my site, you will find the Storysource. This file is a brand-new bibliography that replaces the Compendium and Database by merging their contents, and adding new information in a vastly improved interface. As such it lists detailed information on every known edition and printing of his books in the English language. It goes along very nicely with the coverscans below.
> For a more thorough catalogue of van Vogt book covers from many countries and many decades, you can go to the excellent Cover Gallery section of Magnus Axelsson's site The Weird Worlds of A.E. van Vogt. He has a very nice international variety, while I tend to specialize (rather predictably) in American paperbacks. Another good collection of coverscans can be found on Yutaka Morita's new site. It features Japanese, American, and British editions of various books and magazines. Alexander Martin Pfleger recently drew my attention to a very interesting page on Olaf R. Spittel's website that contains book covers from dozens of German editions of van Vogt's books.
> One final note: often book covers are printed a little tilted in relation to the edges — I've compensated for this by making the text evenly horizontal when I scan the cover. This may result in a slightly uneven appearance for some pictures, especially with regards to the vertical sides. But believe me, this looks much better than having the text tilted. I learned this the hard way after making — and having to redo — several scans after belatedly noticing crooked titles.

———————————————————————————

> > FICTION

> > The Anarchistic Colossus

> > > Ace
> > > 1977, April
> > > Cover art © by Bart Forbes

> > Away and Beyond
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover & spine

> > > Avon
> > > 1953
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > Although it's not uncommon to see a bit of blurb on a book's spine nowadays — mainly because books are so thick and competition so fierce — in 1953 such a thing was quite rare. This and the Avon edition of The Mind Cage are notable in this respect, so I've included a scan of the spine as part of the back cover JPG.

> > Away and Beyond

> > > Berkley
> > > 1959, August
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > Away and Beyond

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1963, August
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > Away and Beyond

> > > Jove / HBJ
> > > 1977, November
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Battle of Forever

> > > Ace
> > > 1971, June
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr

> > The Battle of Forever

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1980, April
> > > Cover art © by Gerald Grace

> > The Battle of Forever

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1982, August (Canadian printing)
> > > Cover art © by Wayne D. Barlowe
> > > This is one of my favorite covers, though I have yet to write any commentary on it.

> > The Beast
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Macfadden
> > > 1964, May
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > The Beast

> > > Science Fiction Book Club
> > > 1963, May
> > > Cover art © by Howard Burns

> > The Beast

> > > Manor
> > > 1972, September
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Beast

> > > Manor
> > > 1975, April
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Beast

> > > Manor
> > > c. 1978
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Beast

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1984, February (Canadian printing)
> > > Cover art © by Frank Kelly Freas

> > The Beast

> > > Carroll & Graf
> > > 1992, November
> > > Cover art © by Jim Burns
> > > This art also appeared on the 1997 Panther books edition of Robert A. Heinlein's novel Farnham's Freehold. However, this van Vogt book seems to reproduce only the right half of the whole picture, all of which can be seen on page 35 of the book Lightship: Jim Burns, Master of SF Illustration by Chris Evans (published by Paper Tiger in 2000).

> > The Best of A.E. van Vogt

> > > Sphere (UK)
> > > 1974, May
> > > Cover art © by Tony Roberts

> > The Best of A.E. van Vogt

> > > Pocket
> > > 1976, July
> > > Cover art © by Harry Bennett

> > The Best of A.E. van Vogt, Volume 1

> > > Sphere (UK)
> > > 1979, March
> > > Cover art © by Peter Elson

> > The Best of A.E. van Vogt, Volume 2

> > > Sphere (UK)
> > > 1979, March
> > > Cover art © by Peter Elson

> > The Blal
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Zebra
> > > 1976, August
> > > Cover art © by D.A. Daily
> > > Funnily enough, this short story collection is described as a "novel" on the back cover. Still, in all fairness, if I had 88 blurbs to write before the weekend I'd probably slip up a bit every now and then too.

> > The Blal

> > > Zebra
> > > 1978, December
> > > Cover art © by Douglas Beekman

> > The Book of Ptath
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1969, May
> > > Cover art © by Jeff Jones

> > The Book of Ptath

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1984, May
> > > Cover art © by Ken W. Kelly

> > The Book of Ptath

> > > Carroll & Graf
> > > 1992, January
> > > Cover art by Paul Lehr (?)

> > The Book of Van Vogt

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1972, April
> > > Cover art © by Karel Thole

> > The Changeling

> > > Macfadden-Bartell
> > > 1967, February
> > > Cover art © by Jack Faragasso

> > The Changeling

> > > Macfadden-Bartell
> > > 1969, August
> > > Cover art © by Jack Faragasso

> > The Changeling

> > > Manor
> > > 1974, February
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > I apologize for the poor quality of the cover — then again, a cover like this doesn't deserve to be treated well. The previous owner obviously thought along similar lines.

> > The Changeling

> > > Manor
> > > 1976
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington
> > > Curiously, this is the same painting that adorned the cover of the 1970 NEL edition of The Weapon Makers.

> > Children of Tomorrow

> > > Ace
> > > 1970
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr

> > Children of Tomorrow

> > > Ace
> > > 1975, February
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr

> > Children of Tomorrow

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1980, April
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington

> > Computerworld

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1983, November (Canadian printing)
> > > Cover art © by Michael Mariano
> > > This is the Canadian printing, but its cover is identical to that of the first edition printed in the U.S. in the same month. It was retitled Computer Eye in 1985 at the request of the well-known magazine Computerworld who were unhappy with the coinciding name.

> > Computerworld
> > — Front cover
> > — Wrap-around panorama

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1986, February
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > Interestingly, this British edition was printed from the plates of the original DAW edition so the pagination of the text is identical in both countries. It should also be noted that this copy states the first NEL printing as February 1986, which contradicts some of my other sources. The cover price is £2.25, though this cannot be seen on this scan since one of those irritating stickers is covering it up. A nice trick in this situation is to open the back cover and hold it up to the light — the printing underneath then becomes visible.

> > Computer Eye
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1985, July
> > > Cover art © by Michael Mariano
> > > This edition — a retitled reprint of his 1983 novel Computerworld — is extremely rare, and this is the only copy I have ever seen for sale and it just so happened to be in mint condition. Since it is so scarce, I've decided to show you both the front and back covers. (But what's that I hear you say? "It's not so rare — for crying out loud, I've got 35 copies of it in a box in my garage!" Well, no wonder it's so hard to find!)

> > Cosmic Encounter

> > > Carroll & Graf
> > > 1990, November
> > > Cover art © by Tony Roberts
> > > This art originally appeared on a Sphere edition of Gordon R. Dickson's Dorsai novel Tactics of Mistake.

> > The Darkness on Diamondia

> > > Ace
> > > 1972, January
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr

> > The Darkness on Diamondia

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1980, July
> > > Cover art © by Tim White

> > The Darkness on Diamondia

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1982, April
> > > Cover art © by Wayne D. Barlowe
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > Destination: Universe!

> > > Signet
> > > 1953, March
> > > Cover art © by Stanley Meltzoff
> > > A photo of van Vogt from the back cover can be seen here.

> > Destination: Universe!

> > > Signet
> > > 1958, September
> > > Cover art © by Stanley Meltzoff

> > Destination: Universe!

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1964, March
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > Destination: Universe!
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover & spine

> > > Panther (UK)
> > > 1972, April
> > > Cover art by Tony Roberts (?)

> > Destination: Universe!
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1975
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > Destination: Universe!

> > > Jove / HBJ
> > > 1977, September
> > > Cover art © by Steve Hickman
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > Earth Factor X
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1976, August
> > > Cover art © by Deane Cate

> > Earth Factor X

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1978, October
> > > Cover art © by Greg Theakston

> > Earth's Last Fortress

> > > published with Lost in Space by George O. Smith
> > > Ace Double
> > > 1960, April
> > > Cover art © by Ed Emshwiller
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > Empire of the Atom

> > > Science Fiction Book Club
> > > 1957
> > > Cover art © by H.W. McCauley
> > > A photo of van Vogt from the back cover can be seen here.

> > Empire of the Atom

> > > published with Space Station #1 by Frank Belknap Long
> > > Ace Double
> > > 1957, September
> > > Cover art © by Ed Valigursky

> > Empire of the Atom

> > > Macfadden-Bartell
> > > 1966, December
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > Empire of the Atom

> > > Macfadden-Bartell
> > > 1970, December
> > > Cover art © by Jack Faragasso

> > Empire of the Atom
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Manor
> > > 1976
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington
> > > This art originally appeared on the NEL edition of Christopher Priest's novel Indoctrinaire.

> > Empire of the Atom

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1978, December
> > > Cover art © by Joe Petagno

> > Empire of the Atom

> > > Timescape / Pocket
> > > 1983, July
> > > Cover art © by Wayne D. Barlowe
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > The Empire of Isher

> > > Orb / Tor
> > > 2000, July
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > The Far-Out Worlds of A.E. van Vogt

> > > Ace
> > > 1968
> > > Cover art © by Jeff Jones

> > Future Glitter

> > > Ace
> > > 1973, October
> > > Cover art © by Bart Forbes

> > The Gryb

> > > Zebra
> > > 1976, May
> > > Cover art © by D.A. Daily

> > The Gryb

> > > Zebra
> > > 1978, March
> > > Cover art © by Colin Hay
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > The Gryb

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1980, April
> > > Cover art © by Paul Monteagle

> > The House That Stood Still

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1965, November
> > > Cover art © by Jack Gaughan

> > The House That Stood Still
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover
> > — Spine

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1968, November
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The House That Stood Still

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1971, May
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > The House That Stood Still

> > > Pocket Books
> > > 1980, October (Canadian printing)
> > > Cover art © by Gerry Daly
> > > This is the Canadian printing of the novel, as signaled by the maple leaf in the upper left-hand corner.
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.
> > > More of Daly's excellent paintings can be see on the covers of Mission to the Stars, The Voyage of the Space Beagle, and The Weapon Shops of Isher. And be sure to read this fascinating interview with Daly.

> > The House That Stood Still

> > > Carroll & Graf
> > > 1993, January
> > > Cover art by Tony Roberts (?)
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > Lost: Fifty Suns

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1979, September
> > > Cover art © by Jim Souder

> > M33 in Andromeda

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1971, April
> > > Cover art © by Geissmann (first name unknown)

> > The Man with a Thousand Names

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1975, October
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > The Man with a Thousand Names
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1979, November
> > > Cover art © by J. Penalva

> > The Man with a Thousand Names

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1980, July
> > > Cover art © by Tim White

> > Masters of Time

> > > Macfadden-Bartell
> > > 1967, February
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > Masters of Time

> > > Macfadden-Bartell
> > > 1969, June
> > > Cover art © by Jack Faragasso

> > Masters of Time

> > > Manor
> > > 1974, February
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > I apologize for the poor condition of this book — it was purchased at a used book store, and it just goes to show that some people do more than just read their books. Whoever owned it before apparently used it as a coaster for their beverage. My only consolation is that even in mint condition, the cover still would've looked like garbage. Red and lime-puke green indeed!
> > > I've found books in far worse condition, though — I have a copy of D.F. Jones' Colossus and the Crab that, when I found it in a used book store in Texas, had a strip of bacon stuck between pages 78 & 79. Somebody used their breakfast as a bookmark!

> > Masters of Time

> > > Manor
> > > 1975
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington
> > > The "cover design" is credited to Tony Destefano, but the painting is Pennington's. I discovered this by means of what my friend Michael McKinney termed callipygian taxonomy.
> > > This cover art was originally put on the NEL edition of Frank Herbert's novel Whipping Star — hence, presumably, the profusion of stars and whips in the painting.

> > The Mating Cry
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover and spine

> > > Beacon Books
> > > 1960, September
> > > Cover art © by Gerald McConnel
> > > This spiced-up revision of The House That Stood Still has a sleazy cover and a salacious blurb to match.

> > The Mind Cage
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover and spine

> > > Avon
> > > 1958
> > > Cover art by Richard Powers (?)
> > > Although it's not uncommon to see a bit of blurb on a book's spine nowadays — mainly because books are so thick and competition so fierce — in 1953 such a thing was quite rare. This and the Avon edition of Away and Beyond are notable in this respect, so I've included a scan of the spine as part of the back cover JPG.

> > The Mind Cage
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Tower
> > > 1967
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > The blurb on this edition has some of the most outrageous hyperbole that I've ever come across, with the back cover reaching an almost hysterical pitch of desperation. It's painfully amusing to read, especially since the book isn't all that great.

> > The Mind Cage

> > > Belmont
> > > 1970, March
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Mind Cage

> > > Pocket
> > > 1978, March
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > The Mind Cage

> > > Timescape / Pocket
> > > 1981, March
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > The Mind Cage

> > > Carroll & Graf
> > > 1993, May
> > > Cover art by "REV"

> > Mission: Interplanetary

> > > Signet
> > > 1952, January
> > > Cover art © by Stanley Meltzoff

> > Mission to the Stars

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1955, December
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > Mission to the Stars

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1971, March
> > > Cover art © by Mike Hinge

> > Mission to the Stars
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Pocket
> > > 1977, October
> > > Cover art © by Ed Soyka
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > Mission to the Stars

> > > Pocket
> > > 1980, November
> > > Cover art © by Gerry Daly
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.
> > > And be sure to read this fascinating interview with Daly.

> > Monsters

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1965, February
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > More Than Superhuman

> > > Dell
> > > 1971, May
> > > Cover art by Jerome Podwil (?)

> > More Than Superhuman

> > > New English Library
> > > 1980, April
> > > Cover art © by Gerald Grace

> > Null-A Continuum
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover & spine
> > — Dust jacket interior 1
> > — Dust jacket interior 2
> > — Title page
> > — Dedication page
> > — Board spine
> > — Early promotional cover

> > > Tor
> > > 2008, May
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Jensen
> > > The early promotional cover JPG that appeared on the internet months before the novel's release is interesting in that it shows more of Jensen's painting, has brighter colors, and features larger print. The Sci-Fi logo is also on the right side, rather than on the left. I'm reproducing it here because the image quality is much sharper than my scan of the actual cover, since presumably it's 100% digital, a mock-up taken directly from the artist's original. Also, the color scheme was extremely difficult to capture even approximately in my scan — so many unusual shades of yellow and green, none of which wanted to cooperate. So with this promotional version, you can see the colors for what they should really look like.
> > > The dedication is also worth noting, not only because I'm listed there (ahem) but mainly because of the touching poem to van Vogt, in which Wright laments having never written him a fan letter. I hope this inspires those of you out there to write to your favorite living authors right now, before it's too late. I personally will always regret having never gotten around to writing a fan letter to Jack L. Chalker...
> > > Two reviews of this novel are available on the Reviews mainpage.

> > Null-A Three
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Sphere (UK)
> > > 1985, February
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington
> > > This, the first English-language edition of the book, was published in Great Britain and remains difficult to locate.

> > Null-A Three

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1985, July
> > > Cover art © by Tim Jacobus

> > One Against Eternity

> > > published with The Other Side of Here by Murray Leinster
> > > Ace Double
> > > 1955, February
> > > Cover art © by Ed Valigursky
> > > Perhaps Leinster's novel should've been entitled The Other Side of an Ace Double?

> > Out of the Unknown

> > > Powell
> > > 1969
> > > Cover art © by Albert Nuetzell

> > The Pawns of Null-A

> > > Ace
> > > 1956
> > > Cover art © by Ed Emshwiller

> > The Pawns of Null-A

> > > Sphere (UK)
> > > 1985
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington
> > > This is one of my favorite covers, though I have yet to write any commentary on it.

> > Pendulum

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1978, December
> > > Cover art © by J. Penalva

> > Pendulum

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1982, July
> > > Cover art © by Peter Elson

> > The People of the Wide Sands
> > French edition:
> > Au-Delá Du Village Enchanté
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover & spine
> > — Interior (preface)

> > > J'ai Lu
> > > 1987, February
> > > Cover art © by James Gurney
> > > This novel, which was never published in English, has been summarized by Alexander Martin Pfleger.
> > > Here is my loose translation of the preface. My knowledge of French may be very basic, but this is guaranteed to be more intelligible than a machine translation!

> > > > In 1981 I gave permission to Renato Pestriniero, a resident of Lido near Venice and a writer well-known in his country, to adapt my short story "Enchanted Village" into a novel. It was quickly completed. It was written in Italian, naturally, and it was published there under the title Il Villagio incantato.
> > > > In 1983 Renato, who speaks English fluently, began the job of translating the novel into English, and sent me the finished result. I did some minor rewriting and touch-ups at the rate of two pages a day, whenever I had a spare moment (which was seldom). My work was finished in May 1986.
> > > > It was Renato who suggested The People of the Wide Sands for the American title, which seemed a good title at the time (and still does today).
> > > > And I think it's a marvellous story.

> > The People of the Wide Sands
> > German edition:
> > Metamorphosen
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover
> > — Spine

> > > Ullstein Taschenbuch Verlag
> > > 1987, November
> > > Cover art © by B. Barnard
> > > This novel, which was never published in English, has been summarized by Alexander Martin Pfleger.

> > Planets for Sale
> > — Front cover & spine
> > — Dust jacket interior 1
> > — Dust jacket interior 2
> > — Title page
> > — Copyright page
> > — Front board
> > — Board spine

> > > Frederick Fell
> > > 1954
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > This first edition was released under E. Mayne Hull's name alone. Subsequent editions included van Vog'ts name as co-author in order to increase sales. The dusk jacket interior contains some biographical details about Hull, including some items of interesting information that I've never come across anywhere else.

> > Planets for Sale
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover and spine

> > > Book Company of America
> > > 1965
> > > Cover art © by Albert Nuetzell
> > > Starting with this edition A.E. van Vogt's name was added as co-author, at the publisher's insistence, in order to increase sales. The original hardback edition was credited solely to his wife E. Mayne Hull.
> > > Albert Nuetzell, brother to the writer and editor Charles Nuetzell, also did the cover for the 1969 edition of Out of the Unknown.

> > Planets for Sale

> > > Tempo
> > > 1970, November
> > > Cover art © by Paul Lehr

> > The Players of Null-A

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1966, March
> > > Cover art © by Jerome Podwil

> > The Players of Null-A

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1974, April
> > > Cover art © by Paul Lehr

> > The Players of Null-A

> > > Berkley
> > > 1982, August
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate
> > > Incidentally, this is the copy that was autographed and given to me by van Vogt when I met him in 1994. You can read my account of this meeting elsewhere on my site, along with a photo of him and his wife Lydia.
> > > Di Fate's cover painting was later used as the frontispiece of the Easton Press leatherbound edition of The World of Null-A.

> > The Proxy Intelligence & Other Mind-Benders
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1971, January
> > > Cover art © by Jack Gaughan
> > > This book has some excellent blurb descriptions for the stories on the back cover. In particular, the blurb for "Rebirth: Earth" is as good an encapsulation of that surreal story as I've ever come across.

> > Ptath

> > > Zebra
> > > 1976, March
> > > Cover art © by D.A. Daily

> > Quest for the Future

> > > Ace
> > > 1970, July
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr
> > > Please excuse the rather unsightly stains on this cover, and on the 1972 printing. Both seem to be candle wax, oddly enough — I guess the previous owners didn't have electricity.

> > Quest for the Future

> > > Science Fiction Book Club
> > > 1970, December
> > > Cover art © by Gary Viskupic

> > Quest for the Future

> > > Ace
> > > 1972, December
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr

> > Renaissance

> > > Pocket
> > > 1979, May
> > > Cover art © by Jerome Podwil

> > Renaissance

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1980, October
> > > Cover art © by Gerald Grace
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > Rogue Ship

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1980, May
> > > Cover art © by Greg Theakston

> > The Secret Galactics

> > > Reward / Prentice-Hall
> > > 1974, March
> > > Cover art © by Ann Layman Chancellor
> > > I swear to you people, this scan has not been altered — it really is that hideous. It goes along quite well with the book's equally bad content. Manor Books also put bichromatic disasters on the covers of their 1974 run of van Vogt novels: The Changeling (pink & purple), Empire of the Atom (red & light blue), Masters of Time(orange & lime green!), The Voyage of the Space Beagle (green & pink), and The Wizard of Linn (dark blue).
> > > 1974 — as can be seen all too clearly — was truly an awful year for book covers, at least as far as van Vogt was concerned.

> > Science Fiction Monsters

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1967, September
> > > Cover art © by Jerome Podwil

> > Siege of the Unseen

> > > published with The World-Swappers by John Brunner
> > > Ace Double
> > > 1959, October
> > > Cover art © by Ed Valigursky

> > The Silkie

> > > Ace
> > > 1969
> > > Cover art © by Jack Gaughan

> > The Silkie

> > > Ace
> > > 1973, December
> > > Cover art © by Bart Forbes

> > The Silkie

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1982, January (Canadian printing)
> > > Cover art © by Wayne D. Barlowe
> > > This is one of my favorite covers, though I have yet to write any commentary on it.

> > Slan
> > — Front cover and spine
> > — Back cover
> > — Dust jacket interior 1
> > — Dust jacket interior 2
> > — Feedback card, front
> > — Feedback card, back

> > > Simon & Schuster
> > > 1951
> > > Cover design © by Edward R. Collins
> > > This was the first readily available edition of Slan ever published, being preceded in 1946 by the rare volume published by Arkham Press. This Simon & Schuster edition contained a number of revisions from previous versions of the novel. This copy that I recently acquired had a nice surprise inside: the original feedback card that came with it, which readers would use to tell the publisher how satisfied they were with the novel.

> > Slan

> > > Dell
> > > 1953
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > Slan
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover
> > — Title page

> > > Ballantine
> > > 1961, May
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers
> > > This edition has an interesting illustration on the title page, presumably also by Powers.

> > Slan

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1968, April
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > Slan

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1975, July
> > > Cover art © by Paul Lehr
> > > This is one of my favorite covers, though I have yet to write any commentary on it.

> > Slan
> > — Front cover
> > — Close-up wallpaper

> > > Science Fiction Book Club
> > > 1978
> > > Cover art © by Gary Viskupic
> > > This is a very striking painting, and the full-scale scan came out so well — with the texture being unusually rich — that I decided to create a wallpaper out of it. The dimensions are wrong for a desktop background so you can trim to fit your screen, or just enjoy it as is. It makes a nice companion piece to Jensen's Slan Hunter cover below.

> > Slan
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Berkley
> > > 1983
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > Slan Hunter

> > > art without titles
> > > © by Bruce Jensen
> > > This is not a scan — rather, it is a file sent to me by the artist himself, Bruce Jensen, of the wonderful painting he did for Kevin J. Anderson's Slan Hunter which was published by Tor in July 2007. I'd like to thank Bruce very much for sharing his art in this "textless" form, which is always a real treat to see.

> > Slan & Slan Hunter
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > SFBC
> > > 2007, June
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate
> > > This is the combined edition of Slan and its new sequel, as put out in hardcover by the Science Fiction Book Club, featuring a very nice painting by Di Fate. It also includes Anderson's new introduction to Slan as well as Lydia's touching forward to Slan Hunter. And contrary to what the copyright page may say, this reprints the 1951 text of Slan, not the 1968 version.
> > > Even though it's the same image as the front cover I've included the back as well, mainly because of that very nice moon in the background that was blotted out by the title on the front. (Although on the back we see one of those darn pesky barcodes blocking a different portion!)
> > > Since I'm not a member of the SFBC, I came by this book indirectly — it was a gift to me from that very generous superslan, Mark McSherry.

> > Supermind

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1977, January
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > Supermind

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1978, February
> > > Cover art © by Attila Hejja

> > The Three Eyes of Evil
> > — Front cover
> > — Dust jacket interior 1
> > — Dust jacket interior 2
> > — Board spine

> > > Sidgwick & Jackson (UK)
> > > 1973, June
> > > Cover design by Mike Cook

> > To Conquer Kiber
> > French edition:
> > A la conquête de Kiber
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover & spine

> > > J'ai Lu
> > > 1985, April
> > > Cover art © by Barclay Shaw
> > > Although originally contracted for DAW Books in the mid-70s, this novel has never been published in any language other than French.

> > Transgalactic
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover and spine

> > > Baen
> > > 2006, October
> > > Cover art © by Bob Eggleton
> > > This oversized trade paperback is the most recent van Vogt collection to appear in print. It contains the original magazine versions of the tales in the Clane, Ezwal, and Mixed Men series. Like many Baen books, it can also be purchased for $5 as a nifty digital download in a variety of formats.

> > The Twisted Men

> > > published with One of Our Asteroids is Missing
> > > by Calvin M. Knox [Robert Silverberg]
> > > Ace Double
> > > 1964, January
> > > Cover art © by Jack Gaughan

> > Two Hundred Million A.D.
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1964, July
> > > Cover art © by Jack Gaughan

> > Two Hundred Million A.D.

> > > Paperback Library
> > > 1971, October
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Universe Maker
> > — Front cover
> > — Flyleaf blurb
> > — Spine

> > > published with The World of Null-A
> > > Ace Double
> > > 1953, October
> > > Cover art © by Paul Orban

> > The Universe Maker

> > > Ace
> > > 1967
> > > Cover art © by Jack Gaughan

> > The Universe Maker
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Ace
> > > 1974, March
> > > Cover art © by Bart Forbes

> > The Universe Maker

> > > Timescape / Pocket
> > > 1982, November
> > > Cover art © by Jerome Podwil

> > The Universe Maker

> > > Sphere (UK) (published with his short story "The Proxy Intelligence")
> > > 1985
> > > Cover art © by Peter Elson

> > The Universe Maker
> > — Front cover
> > — Autographed title page

> > > Carroll & Graf
> > > 1992, April
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > Incidentally, this is the copy that was signed by van Vogt when I met him in 1994. You can read my account of this meeting elsewhere on my site, along with a photo of him and his wife Lydia.

> > The Violent Man

> > > Avon
> > > 1964, January
> > > Cover art © by Robert Jones

> > The Violent Man

> > > Avon
> > > 1967, January
> > > Cover art © by James Bama

> > The Violent Man

> > > Avon
> > > 1970, February
> > > Cover art © by James Bama
> > > This copy is in bad condition — it looks like somebody gave it a rub-down with a sheet of sandpaper — but it can be clearly seen that it merely reproduces a cut-out portion of Bama's painting for the 1967 edition.
> > > By the way, I'm none too sure if I believe that bit about "350,000 COPIES IN PRINT." I'll believe it when I see 350,000 copies sitting in front of me, and no sooner.

> > The Violent Man

> > > Pocket
> > > 1978, April
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > The Voyage of the Space Beagle
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover & spine

> > > Macfadden
> > > 1963
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers

> > The Voyage of the Space Beagle
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Manor
> > > 1976
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington
> > > This is one of my favorite covers, though I have yet to write any commentary on it.
> > > This art originally appeared on the NEL edition of Brian Aldiss' book Equator, as well as at least one other book put out by Manor in the 1970s, the anthology 4 Futures (which it didn't suit at all).

> > The Voyage of the Space Beagle

> > > Manor
> > > c. 1977
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington

> > The Voyage of the Space Beagle

> > > Timescape / Pocket
> > > 1981, July
> > > Cover art © by Gerry Daly
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.
> > > And be sure to read this fascinating interview with Daly.

> > The Voyage of the Space Beagle

> > > Science Fiction Book Club
> > > 1982, May
> > > Cover art © by Clyde Caldwell

> > The War Against the Rull

> > > Perma / Pocket
> > > 1962, December
> > > Cover art by Richard Powers (?)

> > The War Against the Rull

> > > Ace
> > > 1972, November
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr

> > The War Against the Rull

> > > Ace
> > > 1977, August
> > > Cover art © by Don Ivan Punchantz
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.

> > The War Against the Rull

> > > Timescape / Pocket
> > > 1982, September
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate
> > > Incidentally, this is the copy that was signed by van Vogt when I met him in 1994. You can read my account of this meeting elsewhere on my site, along with a photo of him and his wife Lydia.

> > The Weapon Makers

> > > Ace
> > > 1966
> > > Cover art © by Jack Gaughan

> > The Weapon Makers

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1970, June
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington
> > > Curiously, this is the same painting that adorned the cover of the 1976 Manor edition of The Changeling.

> > The Weapon Makers

> > > Tempo
> > > 1970, November
> > > Cover art © by Paul Lehr

> > The Weapon Makers

> > > Pocket
> > > 1979, February
> > > Cover art © by Jerome Podwil

> > The Weapon Shops of Isher

> > > Ace
> > > 1961, January
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Weapon Shops of Isher

> > > Ace
> > > 1969, December
> > > Cover art © by John Schoenherr
> > > This is one of my favorite covers, though I have yet to write any commentary on it.

> > The Weapon Shops of Isher

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1970, July
> > > Cover art © by Bruce Pennington

> > The Weapon Shops of Isher

> > > Ace
> > > 1973, November
> > > Cover art © by Bart Forbes

> > The Weapon Shops of Isher

> > > Ace
> > > 1974
> > > Cover art © by Bart Forbes

> > The Weapon Shops of Isher
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Pocket
> > > 1977, August
> > > Cover art © by Adams (first name unknown)

> > The Weapon Shops of Isher

> > > Pocket
> > > c. 1980
> > > Cover art © by Gerry Daly
> > > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > > You can read my comments on it here.
> > > And be sure to read this fascinating interview with Daly.

> > The Winged Man

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1967, May
> > > Cover art © by "Hoot"
> > > (full name: Hubertus Octavio von Zitzewitz)

> > The Winged Man

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1970, November
> > > Photo/Cover art © by Ira Cohen

> > The Winged Man
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover and spine

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1980, March
> > > Cover art © by Douglas Beekman
> > > It's worth noting that when this edition was released again in 1985, the quality of printing on the cover was dramatically improved. All copies of this 1980 edition that I've seen have darker, murkier colors.

> > The Winged Man

> > > DAW Books
> > > 1985, July
> > > Cover art © by Douglas Beekman

> > The Wizard of Linn
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover

> > > Ace
> > > 1962
> > > Cover art © by Ed Valigursky

> > The Wizard of Linn

> > > Macfadden-Bartell
> > > 1968, December
> > > Cover art by Jack Faragasso (?)

> > The Wizard of Linn

> > > Manor
> > > 1974, February
> > > Cover artist unknown

> > The Wizard of Linn

> > > New English Library (UK)
> > > 1979, February
> > > Cover art © by Joe Petagno

> > The Wizard of Linn

> > > Timescape / Pocket
> > > 1983, August
> > > Cover art © by Wayne D. Barlowe

> > The World of A

> > > Simon & Schuster
> > > 1948
> > > Cover art © by Leo Manso

> > The World of A
> > — Front cover and spine
> > — Dust jacket interior

> > > Grosset & Dunlap
> > > 1950
> > > Cover artist unknown
> > > This hardback reprint of the 1948 Simon & Schuster text of the novel contains a two-page introduction by the influential anthologist Groff Conklin.

> > The World of Null-A
> > — Front cover
> > — Flyleaf blurb
> > — Spine

> > > published with The Universe Maker
> > > Ace Double
> > > 1953, October
> > > Cover art © by Robert Schulz

> > The World of Null-A

> > > Ace
> > > 1964
> > > Cover art © by Ed Emshwiller

> > The World of Null-A
> > — Front cover
> > — Back cover
> > — Spine
> > — Title page

> > > Berkley
> > > 1970, November
> > > Cover art © by Richard Powers
> > > This 1970 edition was the first to contain the slightly revised version of the 1948 text, and included a new introduction by van Vogt.
> > > This copy is the November reprint of the original Berkley edition released in February, but is identical in every important respect.

> > The World of Null-A

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1974, March
> > > Cover art © by Paul Lehr

> > The World of Null-A

> > > Berkley Medallion
> > > 1977, January
> > > Cover art © by Paul Lehr

> > The World of Null-A

> > > Berkley
> > > 1982, March
> > > Cover art © by Vincent Di Fate

> > The World of A
> > — Front cover
> > — Spine
> > — Edge
> > — Bookplate
> > — Frontispiece, by Vincent Di Fate
> > — Title page
> > — Chapter heading design

> > > Easton Press
> > > 1995?
> > > Book design and artwork © by Vincent Di Fate
> > > This is the ultra-deluxe leather-bound gold-edged edition published intermittently by Easton Press since 1988. It's an exquisitely beautiful volume and these scans don't do it justice — for the full effect, you really do need to hold a copy in your hands, run your fingers over the rivulets in the cover, whiff the leather, open it up and flip the smooth, gilded pages while relishing the amazing craftsmanship that went into every aspect of its production. It even has its own built-in satin bookmark! You know it's a really fancy book when it has one of those...
> > > The stunning frontispiece is a reproduction of Di Fate's painting for the '82 Berkley edition of The Players of Null-A.

> > The World of Null-A

> > > Orb / Tor
> > > 2002, October
> > > Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> > > This painting (erroneously attributed to "Mark Rogers" on the back of this book) originally adorned the cover of the November 1948 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, which contained Part 2 of The Players of A.

> > The Worlds of A.E. van Vogt

> > > Ace
> > > 1974, January
> > > Cover art © by Bart Forbes

> ———————————————————————————
> MAGAZINES

> The Arkham Sampler
> 1949, Winter
> Contains "Dear Pen Pal"
> (not illustrated)
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1939, July
> — Table of contents
> Cover art © by Graves Gladney
> for van Vogt's story
> Contains "Black Destroyer"
> illustrated by F. Kramer
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1939, December
> — Editorial
> Cover art © by H. Gilmore
> for van Vogt's story
> Contains "Discord in Scarlet"
> illustrated by Paul Orban
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1940, April
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> for L. Ron Hubbard's Final Blackout
> Contains "Repetition"
> illustrated by F. Kramer
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1940, September
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> inspired by R.S. Richardson's article "Universes for Lenses"
> Contains Slan, Part One
> illustrated by Charles Schneeman
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1940, October
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> Contains Slan, Part Two
> illustrated by Charles Schneeman
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1940, November
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> for Vic Phillips' "Salvage"
> Contains Slan, Part Three
> illustrated by Charles Schneeman
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1940, December
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> for P. Schuyler Miller's "Old Man Mulligan"
> Contains Slan, Part Four
> illustrated by Charles Schneeman
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1942, April
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers, for Part 1 of
> Robert A. Heinlein's Beyond This Horizon
> Contains "Co-operate — or Else!"
> illustrated by Charles Schneeman
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1942, October
> Cover art © by A. von Munchausen (yes, as in "Baron"),
> for Lester del Rey's "Lunar Landing"
> Contains "The Second Solution"
> illustrated by Kolliker
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1943, August
> Cover art © by William Timmins
> for C. L. Moore's Judgment Night
> Contains "M33 in Andromeda"
> illustrated by A. Williams
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1944, September
> Cover art © by William Timmins
> for Clifford D. Simak's "Census"
> Contains "A Can of Paint"
> illustrated by Paul Orban
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1945, May
> Cover art © by William Timmins
> for Murray Leinster's "First Contact"
> Contains "The Purpose"
> illustrated by Paul Orban
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1945, August
> Cover art © by William Timmins
> Contains World of A, Part One
> illustrated by Paul Orban
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1945, September
> Cover art © by William Timmins
> Contains World of A, Part Two
> illustrated by Paul Orban
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1945, October
> Cover art © by William Timmins,
> for A. Bertram Chandler's "Giant Killer"
> Contains World of A, Part Three
> illustrated by Paul Orban
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1946, November
> Cover art © by William Timmins,
> for Theodore Sturgeon's "Mewhu's Jet"
> Contains The Chronicler
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1948, May
> Cover art © by "Alejandro" (working name of Alejandro Canedo)
> Contains "The Rull"
> illustrated by Paul Orban

> > Alejandro's covers for Astounding could be depended on to convey the same theme over and over again. Here we see variation #228 of "Unclothed Man As Atomic God."

> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1948, October
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> Contains The Players of A, Part One
> illustrated by Hubert Rogers

> > Funnily enough, this painting was recently used on the cover of Tor's 1999 reprint of The War Against the Rull.

> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1948, November
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers
> Contains The Players of A, Part Two
> illustrated by Hubert Rogers.

> > Rather like it's counterpart for the October 1948 issue, this painting was later used by Tor to adorn a book that is also not the second Null-A novel. This time it decorated their 2002 reprint of the first in the series, The World of Null-A, in the process erroneously crediting it to "Mark Rogers." They presumably didn't use a cover from the serial of World because Rogers' artwork is far more interesting than Timmins'. ;-)

> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1948, December
> Cover art © by Paul Orban,
> for Poul Anderson's "Genius"
> Contains The Players of A, Part Three
> illustrated by Hubert Rogers
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1949, January
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers,
> for Lewis Padgett's "Private Eye"
> Contains The Players of A, Part Four
> illustrated by Hubert Rogers
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1949, June
> Cover art © by Chesley Bonestell,
> for Philip Latham's article "The Aphrodite Project"
> Contains "The Green Forest"
> illustrated by Brush
> Astounding Science Fiction
> 1950, February
> Cover art © by Hubert Rogers,
> for L. Ron Hubbard's novel To the Stars
> Contains "The Sound"
> illustrated by Brush
> Authentic Science Fiction Monthly
> 1953, April
> Cover art © by "Davis" (pseudonym of John Richards)
> Contains "Haunted Atoms" (Reprint)
> illustrated by Fischer
> Avon Fantasy Reader #4
> 1947, September
> Cover artist unknown
> Contains "Defense"
> (not illustrated)
> Fantastic Stories of Imagination
> 1961, September
> Cover art © by Alex Schomburg, for van Vogt's story
> Contains "Ship of Darkness" (Reprint)
> illustrated by Dan Adkins

> > Sam Moscowitz's informative introduction to this unusual tale can be read here and here.

> Fantastic Story
> 1952, Summer
> Cover art © by Alex Schomburg
> Contains Slan (Abridged 1940 text)
> illustrated by Virgil Finlay
> Fantasy Book #1
> 1947, July
> — Front cover
> — Back cover (full)
> — Back cover close-up (top)
> — Back cover close-up (bottom)
> — Table of contents
> Cover art © by Milo
> Contains "The Cataaaaa"
> illustrated by Charles McNutt

> > This, the first issue of the rare Fantasy Book magazine, is so tall and wide that scanning it in proved quite challenging. After several unsatisfactory attempts I finally had to resort to doing the front and back covers in a piecemeal fashion and then stitching the images together. Owing to this difficulty, I've included the interesting back cover in two forms — as a smaller stitched-together image, and as the two original high-resolution images where the text is easier to read. After reading those tantalizing descriptions of books for sale, I found myself adding a few titles to my shopping list!
> > This issue is especially famous for containing Andre Norton's first published science fiction story, "People of the Crater," under the name Andrew North.
> > Incidentally, according to the seller I purchased this from, this copy of Fantasy Book #1 was once part of Forrest J. Ackerman's collection. Of course, this was probably just one of a few dozen copies he had in his attic, but still I think that's pretty neat.

> Fantasy Book #2
> 1948, March
> Pulp paper edition
> Cover art © by Roy Hunt
> Book paper edition
> Cover art © by Lora Crozetti
> Contains "Ship of Darkness"
> illustrated by Charles McNutt

> > William Crawford was the editor and publisher of Fantasy Book along with his wife Margaret, but for some reason they worked here under the pseudonym of Garret Ford. Due to financial and technical problems, it was rare for any two issues of FB to be the exact same size — issue #1 is somewhat larger than the bedsheet format, while issue #2 is somewhat smaller than the bedsheet format, while issues #3 on up were more or less digest size. And to further confuse things, some individual issues were released in two formats, with different covers and different prices. Such is the case here with issue #2. The larger edition, with blue-and-black cover art by Roy Hunt, was printed on extremely low-quality pulp paper, while the slightly smaller edition, with black-and-yellow cover art by Lora Crozetti, was printed on much higher quality book paper. The contents of the magazine, however, are identical, so Crozetti is (rather confusingly) given cover art credit on the contents page in both editions. Fortunately, Hunt has put a clearly legible signature to his artwork:
> > Nonetheless, for all its faults and eccentricities FB vividly conveyed Crawford's endless enthusiasm for SF and fantasy. He helmed numerous short-lived publishing ventures over the years — including Marvel Tales in the '30s, Fantasy Book in the late '40s, Spaceway in the early '50s (and again in the late '60s!), and Witchcraft & Sorcery in the early '70s — each of which exhibited the same endearing shoddiness. I find his to be a inspiring example of plunging ahead to do something you love, with exuberant spontaneity and a refreshing lack of cringing apologetics.

> Fantasy Book #3
> 1948, July
> — Front cover
> — Back cover
> Cover art © by Lora Crozetti
> for "The Gifts of Asti" by Andrew North [Andre Norton]
> Contains "The Great Judge"
> (not illustrated)

> > The back cover of this issue has some interesting adverts for books being released that month from the Fantasy Publishing Company, which was also the publisher of Fantasy Book.

> Fantasy Book
> 1981, December
> — Front cover
> — Table of contents
> Cover art © by Charles Vess
> Contains "Death Talk" (Reprint)
> illustrated by Walter Lee

> > This rare story has only ever appeared twice in English (and once in French), with the first being in the British anthology Pulsar 1 edited by George Hay.
> > This semiprozine ran for 23 quarterly issues from October 1981 to March 1987. Although it bears the title of Fantasy Book, it was unrelated to William Crawford's magazine of the same name (which ran from 1947 to 1951). In his first editorial, Dennis Mallonee acknolwedged his indebtedness to Crawford for partial inspiration, but this later Fantasy Book in truth has more in common with Campbell's Unknown Worlds, featuring stories from the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres, as well as humorous and unclassifiable tales.
> > Unlike its namesake, Mallonee's is a very professional and breathtakingly beautiful magazine, meticulously layed out and printed on marvellous quality paper. Along with its fine selection of fiction, it also showcased the work of numerous talented artists.

> Fantasy Crossroads #14
> 1978, September
> — Front cover
> — Back cover
> — Table of Contents
> Front cover art © by Stephen E. Fabian & Hannes Bok
> Back cover art © by Stephen Riley
> Contains "The Gods Defied"
> (Not illustrated. Although Stephen Riley is credited on the contents page with illustrating this story, all that actually appeared is a fancy title block.)
> Galaxy
> 1969, September
> — Front cover
> — Back cover
> Cover art © by Donald H. Menzel
> Contains "Humans, Go Home!"
> illustrated by Jack Gaughan

> > Gaughan's illustrations include a very interesting two-page spread that features some important background details — this very helpful information was not included in subsequent appearances of "Humans, Go Home!" and does a great deal to explain some of the more cryptic aspects of the story, particularly humanity's use of special "Symbols."
> > Donald Menzel's wraparound cover for this issue of Galaxy (entitled "Menzel's Martians") was done in honor of Mariner VI & VII and is accompanied by his delightful little article "Martians and Venusians" which describes these fanciful creatures. This three-page section is available as two JPG scans: Pages 1 & 2 and Page 3.

> Galaxy
> 1971, February
> Cover art © by Jack Gaughan
> inspired by Stephen Tall's "This is My Country"
> Contains "The Reflected Men"
> illustrated by Jack Gaughan
> Galaxy
> 1979, June/July
> Cover art © by Kenneth Smith
> for Jesse Peel's Star Warriors
> Contains "Femworld: Before the Revolution"
> (an excerpt of Chapters 1-5 from Renaissance)
> illustrator unknown

> > Though it has nothing to do with van Vogt's story, this is a rather interesting cover. I especially like that weird blue-crab jelly-headed monster in the background.

> If
> 1965, February
> Cover art © by Richard McKenna
> for E. Clayton McCarty's "Small One"
> Contains "The Replicators"
> illustrated by Gray Morrow
> If
> 1986, September
> — Front cover
> — Table of contents (1)
> — Table of contents (2)
> — Editorial (1)
> — Editorial (2)
> Cover art © by Bob Eggleton
> Contains "Prologue to Freedom"
> illustrated by Vincent Di Fate

> > Like the mid-80s issues of Weird Tales, this was a later revival of a well-loved magazine. This one was even more short-lived, lasting for just this single issue, edited by Clifford R. Hong.
> > "Prologue to Freedom" was van Vogt's last published short story. It's an incredibly dull tale about the splitting of California into a northern Communist sector and a southern Capitalist zone, and the efforts of various people to move their wealth from one to the other. The illustration by Di Fate, however, is a genuinely creepy new rendition of the American flag.

> The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
> 1950, December
> Cover art © by Chesley Bonestell
> Contains "Process"
> (not illustrated)
> The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
> 1971, January
> Cover art © by Vaughn Bode, for van Vogt's story
> Contains "The Human Operators" (with Harlan Ellison)
> (not illustrated)
> Marvel Science Fiction
> 1951, August
> Cover art © by Hannes Bok
> Contains "This Joe" (aka "The First Martian")
> illustrated by Harry Harrison
> Other Worlds
> 1950, May
> Cover art © by Malcolm Smith
> for Eric Frank Russell's "Dear Devil"
> Contains "War of Nerves"
> illustrated by Bill Terry
> Other Worlds
> 1950, July
> Cover art © by Malcolm Smith
> for The Justice of Martin Brand by G.H. Irwin
> [Raymond A. Palmer]
> Contains "Enchanted Village"
> illustrated by Jon Arfstrom
> Other Worlds
> 1950, September
> Cover art © by Malcolm Smith
> for S.J. Byrne's Colossus III
> Contains "Automaton"
> illustrated by Malcolm Smith
> Out of This World Adventures
> 1950, July
> — Front cover
> — Table of contents
> — 32-Page Comics Section
> Cover artist unknown
> Contains "Letter From the Stars" [aka "Dear Pen Pal"]
> illustrated by "Marm" (?)

> > One of Donald A. Wollheim's experimental publishing ventures, this magazine lasted only two issues (this is the first). Both featured a lengthy comics section, which is unusual for a magazine of this period. Information and scans from this first issue's comics are available here.

> Planet Stories
> 1951, March
> Cover art © by Allen Anderson
> for Leigh Brackett's Black Amazon of Mars
> Contains "The Star Saint"
> illustrated by Paul Orban
> The Science Fiction Collector #8
> 1979, October/December
> — Front cover
> — Table of Contents
> — Editorial
> Contains The 1979 Thiessen Interview
> Science Fiction Digest
> #1 — 1954, February
> Cover art © by Chester Martin
> Contains "Haunted Atoms" (reprint)
> illustrator unknown
> Spaceway
> 1954, June
> Cover art © by Paul Blaisdell
> Contains "Hypnotism Man" (Article)
> (not illustrated)
> Spaceway
> 1955, February
> Cover art © by Paul Blaisdell
> for "Criswell Predicts on Outer Space"
> Contains "Van Vogt on Dianetics" (Interview)
> (not illustrated)

> > Van Vogt's piece, which is an interview about Dianetics, has a brief introduction by the editor which can be read here.

> Spaceway
> 1969, January
> Cover art © by Morris Scott Dollens
> Contains "Him"
> (not illustrated)
> Startling Stories
> 1950, January
> Cover art © by Earle K. Bergey
> for Edmond Hamilton's The Return of Captain Future
> Contains The Shadow Men
> (original, short version of The Universe Maker)
> illustrated by Stephen Lawrence
> Super Science Stories
> 1949, April
> Cover art © by Stephen Lawrence
> Contains "The Earth Killers"
> illustrated by Virgil Finlay (?)

> > I must say that if that bright-red crabdog monster is Stephen Lawrence's idea of a menacing alien creature, one can easily see why he usually stuck to drawing his gorgeous space maidens...

> Weird Tales
> 1984, Fall
> — Front cover
> — Table of contents
> — Editorial
> Cover art © by Hyang Ro Kim, for van Vogt's story
> Contains "The Pandora Principle" (with Brinke Stevens)
> illustrated by Dave Stevens

> > This incredibly rare issue was one of only two revival issues of this venerable magazine edited by Gordon M.D. Garb, both of which contained stories by van Vogt. This first issue contained "The Pandora Principle, Part 1." The rest of the serial was either never written or never published, which is a shame since Part 1 is a fun and engaging story.
> > Unusually for van Vogt, the collaborator on this story was not another science fiction author, but Brinke Stevens, a "scream queen" famous for her many starring roles in low-grade horror movies. How they came to write this story together is a mystery, though it is possible that they met through their mutual friend, Forrest J. Ackerman, who was an enthusiastic supporter of (and often a participant in) such films. (Sadly, Ackerman passed away in early December 2008.) Incidentally, Brinke was married to Dave Stevens, the comic book artist who provided the single illustration for this story, for a short time in the early '80s. Brinke was also the "Production Executive" for this revival of Weird Tales.

> Weird Tales
> 1985, Winter
> — Front cover
> — Table of contents
> — Editorial & Spot Featuring Comedian Eric Idle
> — Artist & model profile
> — Full-page ad for Null-A Three
> — Locus article by Jim van Hise about Weird Tales (page 1)
> — Locus article by Jim van Hise about Weird Tales (page 2)
> Cover art © by Hyang Ro Kim
> for Robert Bloch's "Unspeakable Betrothal"
> Contains "The Brain"
> illustrator unknown

> > This second issue of the mid-80s revival of Weird Tales is even rarer than the first. After countless years of searching for this issue I was finally able to obtain a copy on eBay from Jim van Hise who, incidentally, also wrote a short article about this revival of Weird Tales for the September 1986 issue of Locus magazine (issue #308). This article is reproduced above by kind permission of Mr. van Hise, who also supplied the scanned article.
> > Aside from van Vogt's story "The Brain," which is one of his finest from his later period, this issue contains many items of interest, including a full-page ad for the limited hardcover edition of Null-A Three, a short item about the cover artist and model, as well as a surprising and delightful piece about a visit made to Weird Tales' offices by the famous British comedian Eric Idle.

> Witchcraft & Sorcery
> 1971, January/February
> — Front cover
> — Table of contents
> — Editorial
> — Coming Next Issue...
> Cover art © by Burge
> for Carleton Grindle's "The Momentary Ghost"
> Contains "The Rat and the Snake"
> illustrated by Robert E. Jennings

> > This short-lived magazine was originally entitled Coven 13, under the editorship of Arthur H. Landis. When sales declined, however, it was bought by William Crawford (editor and publisher Fantasy Book and Spaceway) who turned it into Witchcraft & Sorcery: The Modern Magazine of Weird Tales until it too ceased after a few issues. (You can read more about the changeover in the editorial.)
> > Despite the magazine's lurid name — which might have better described as "The Modern Magazine of Horrible Hyperbole" — the majority of the tales in this magazine are fairly tame and predictable, and as is often the case with Crawford's magazines, they reflect more enthusiasm than skill. Surprisingly, the interior artwork is of a higher quality than the stories, effectively conveying the eldritch dread which the insipid fiction fails to deliver.

———————————————————————————
ANTHOLOGIES

> Ghor, Kin-Slayer: The Saga of Genseric's Fifth-Born Son
> by Robert E. Howard, et al.
> Necronomicon Press
> 1997, August
> Cover art © by Robert H. Knox
> Contains van Vogt's contribution, "Chapter X: The Gods Defied"

> > A summary of this unusual multi-author novel can be read elsewhere on my site.

> Pulsar 1
> edited by George Hay
> Penguin (UK)
> 1978, December
> Cover art © by Adrian Chesterman
> Contains "Death Talk"

> > This is one of my favorite covers.
> > You can read my comments on it here.

> Quark/#1
> edited by Samuel R. Delany & Marilyn Hacker
> Paperback Library
> 1970, November
> Cover "art" © by Russell FitzGerald
> Contains Carthing" (aka "Chevrolet, I Love You")

> > This is a very unpleasant cover, which seems to reflect the New Wave's preferred method of exploring new frontiers — through drugs rather than space travel!

> Stopwatch
> edited by George Hay
> — Front cover
> — Cover Panorama
> — Dust Jacket Flap 1
> — Dust Jacket Flap 2
> — George Hay's Autograph
> — Title Page
> — Copyright Page & Table of Contents
> — Board: Front & Spine
> New English Library
> 1974
> Cover artist unknown
> Contains "All We Have on This Planet"

> > George Hay's autograph is not only borderline illegible (apart from an exuberant "Hay" at the end), but on the front flyleaf rather than the title page. Well, the seller said it was his autograph, but as far as I can tell it could just be a random scribble that bears a surface similarity to some of the letters in his name. Actually, it looks more like a doctor's signature. Hmmm... did Hay go to medical school, I wonder?

> The Survival of Freedom
> edited by Jerry Pournelle and John F. Carr
> Fawcett Crest
> 1981, August
> Cover artist unknown
> Contains "Identity"
> Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn
> A shared-world anthology edited by Robert Lynn Asprin
> Ace
> 1980, November
> Cover art © by Walter Velez
> Contains van Vogt's contribution,
> "The Dream of the Sorceress"
> Die Venusnarbe ("The Venus Scar")
> A German anthology of SF stories from South America
> — Front cover
> — Back cover & spine
> Wilhelm Heyne Verlag
> 1982
> Cover art © by Jim Burns
> Van Vogt wrote the Preface for this anthology

———————————————————————————
NON-FICTION

> A.E. van Vogt: Master of Null-A
> "A Working Bibliography" by Phil Stephensen-Payne and Ian Covell
> Galactic Central Publications
> 1997
> An exhaustive bibliography. Includes a great deal of information which I am not qualified to even touch, such as foreign-language editions and book reviews. It is recommended that all serious van Vogt readers obtain a copy of this work, as it is a gold mine of information.
> A.E. van Vogt: Science Fantasy's Icon
> by H.L. Drake
> Booklocker
> 2002, January
> Cover art © by Cathi Stevenson
> My review of this slim but highly informative book can be found elsewhere on my site.
> The John W. Campbell Letters
> with Isaac Asimov & A.E. van Vogt, Volume II
> edited by Perry A. Chapdelaine, Sr.
> AC Projects
> 1993
> Cover art © by Frank Kelly Freas
> This extremely rare volume contains copious correspondence between Campbell and Asimov and a very small (though still quite interesting) selection of correspondence between Campbell and van Vogt.
> The Null-A Worlds of A.E. van Vogt
> by H. L. Drake
> Chris Drumm, Books — Booklet #32
> 1989, January

> > This short booklet — copies of which can still be purchased from the publisher, Chris Drumm — consists of interviews Drake conducted with van Vogt from 1974 to 1985.

> Reflections of A.E. van Vogt
> by A.E. van Vogt
> Fictioneer
> 1975, February
> Cover design by Cary Bradley
> This is van Vogt's brief but fascinating autobiography. (Apparently, everything good written about van Vogt has to be short! — "Slim but highly informative," "thin but indispensable," "small though interesting," "brief but fascinating"...)
> Unlock Your Money Personality
> by A.E. van Vogt
> Morrison, Raven-Hill
> 1983
> Cover photo by Dan Golden
> This is a book van Vogt wrote that advises how to manage your finances wisely in all areas of life, and includes quite a few interesting and humorous anecdotes.
> There is a very nice photo of van Vogt and Lydia on the back cover, which can be seen here.

———————————————————————————
MISCELLANY

> A Can of Paint
> A short film directed by Robi Michael
> Based on the short story by A.E. van Vogt
> (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1944)
> Englomerate Productions / Make Believe Media USA
> 2004
> Cover art © by Thomas Marinello
> This isn't the cover of a book, but of a DVD case. I still wanted to share a high quality scan of it with you all since it's a fascinating work of art. My review of this short film, and a link to the official website where the DVD is available for purchase, can be found by clicking here.

Lords of the Sevagram
— Front, spine, and back
— Excerpt
A tribute by Tais Teng
Cover mock-up
Cover art and text © by Tais Teng
This unusual item, the exterior and an excerpt from a fictitious van Vogt novel, is the creation of Dutch SF writer and graphic artist Tais Teng. To quote from his email:

> LORDS OF THE SEVAGRAM, cover and page 40 - 41 of A. E. van Vogt's third Weapon Shops novel (which, sadly, is only available in the universe next door).
> This is my homage to van Vogt and the marvelous covers that graced the vintage sf books. I tried to recreate the beautiful muddy browns and eerily glowing green of the old Ace doubles, the DAWs and Digits. Those covers were my doors in the hedge, portals to worlds of wonder. Writing the text on the back and the two pages was also great fun.
> On the cover you often found a kind of teaser, a question that made you long to find the answer in the book. "Could a single starship threaten the mighty empire of Isher?" is in the same tradition.
> The strange thing was, that having finished the cover, I had a strong feeling that I had really read Lords of the Sevagram, not once, but several times.

Being the incorrigible van Vogt fan that I am, I've often had a dream where I'm in some out-of-the-way bookstore and find an entire row of hitherto unknown van Vogt paperback novels. On occasion, I've even awakened and hurriedly scribbled down some of the nonsensical titles in my bedside notebook, my befuddled half-awake brain hoping to find them for sale on AbeBooks.com in the morning. So Lords of the Sevagram is precisely the sort of thing I'd love to stumble upon during one of my book-buying sprees.
Teng has done an excellent imitation of a DAW paperback here, the spine especially. Even though I'm not a big fan of the color yellow, there's something both exciting and reassuring about seeing a row of yellow DAW paperback spines in a bookshop...
The two page excerpt is a real treat to read. He's crammed the expected number of vanvogtian ideas into an unbelievably small space, creating a tantalizing glimpse into the story as a whole.
Just for kicks, by looking at the ISBN on the spine and the cover price, I estimate this book was published some time in 1981. I haven't been able to track down exactly which alternate reality it was printed in, but I'm working on it.
Favorite Covers