The Cover Artists
of the Harper Torchbooks Series:
A Preliminary List

Author: John A. Mellman

Introduction

In 2016 the Publishing History website published a book series list of the Harper Torchbook series showing serial number, title and author information for the first 1,500 titles.

In 2017 I wrote an essay titled The Harper Torchbooks Series: A History and Personal Assessment. In that essay I promised a follow-up cross-reference list of that series' artists and that now appears below.

The list is preliminary and necessarily incomplete: it is based on my personal book collection of "first generation" Torchbooks (disclaimer: my collection lacks about 100 of the 900 "first generation" volumes) and is limited, for now, to artists who are credited with four or more covers. Some volumes either credited no cover artist or had the credits obscured by a sticker. In all, the list includes about 550 volumes. The "first generation" Torchbooks are roughly those with series number TB 1 to TB 1550 (about 800 volumes) and TB 2001 to TB 3505 (about 110 volumes) and which were printed in the period from 1956 to about 1970. In general my collection excluded "second generation" Torchbooks, which had different content and glossy covers with a more abstract, styled design. Those generally have series numbers above TB 1550 and publication dates of 1970 and later. The term "generally" appears because there is not a precise dividing line.

I have indicated where a cover artist appears to be listed under more than one version of their name (e.g. Bob Moskowitz also credited as Robert Moskowitz).

My research to date indicates that many Torchbook cover artists also designed covers for other paperback series apart from Harper Torchbooks (and notably but not exclusively the "quality paperback" series of the 1950s and 1960s which I discussed in my first article). Artists mentioned here, variously, provided illustrations for books and illustrated dust jackets, record albums, posters, and other graphic art.

In comparison to other "quality paperback" series and imprints, the covers in the "first generation" of Harper Torchbooks (TB 1-TB 1550; TB 2001-TB 3505) featured:
• a polychromatic graphic design that integrated some combination of images and graphic title and subtitle on the front cover, and
• a back cover where the dominant color found on the front cover and spine often wraps around and continues but where there is more text (mostly content summary and reviews) and images than on the front cover.

By way of contrast, the "second generation" Torchbooks (not discussed in this article) display a different, possibly more limited and styled, cover art.

Guy Fleming and Ronald Clyne were the most prolific cover designers in the "first generation" of the Torchbooks, producing 43 covers and 37 covers respectively. Both designed covers in several subject areas including science, and Fleming created the covers for the original Rise of Modern Europe sub-series.

Ellen Raskin, who produced a total of 32 Torchbook covers overall, was the most prominent artist during the publication of the earliest Torchbook issues: she produced covers for 19 of the first 100 Torchbooks.

About 15 of the Torchbooks artists illustrated 10 or more covers. A few artists -- Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser, and Elaine Lustig -- are well-known in the field of graphic design, even though they did only a few covers for Torchbooks.

Representative covers from some of the most prolific artists in this series are shown, although it must be said that excellent covers were designed by all the artists in this series. This preliminary listing, while not incuding all the Torchbook artists, does cover the "principal" artists, at least by frequency.

I hope to write further short articles, each of which will focus on a single artist.

Request for Feedback
I warmly welcome any additions or corrections from my readers. Please email these to me at:

Cover Artists of the Harper Torchbooks Series
(Serial Numbers TB 1 - TB 1550, ca. 1956-70,
and TB 2001 - TB 3505):
A Preliminary and Partial List

• For simplicity's sake, each serial number below is listed without the series prefix (e.g. the serial number listed below as 1099 appears as TB 1099 on the cover of the book).
• Each entry lists the name(s) under which an artist’s work has appeared, the total number of covers he/she designed, and the series number of each title for which he/she designed covers.
• To see the title and author(s) for each series number, click here.
• Reissues indicated by "/"

Emil Antonucci (4)
7, 23, 81, 142

Ash, Reller Associates; Hiram Ash (4)
554, 1082, 1108, 2014

Ted Bernstein (24)
96, 98, 314, 1059, 1099, 1103, 1121, 1122, 1145, 1156, 1193, 1201, 1228, 1249, 1269, 1361, 1419, 1431, 1471, 2012, 3042, 3054, 3055, 3060

Bolognese (Donald) (4)
2, 4, 29, 32

Charles & Cuffari (4)
1266, 1276, 1286, 1306

Seymour Chwast (5)
88, 1022, 1027, 1280, 1309

Andrea Clark (5)
1084, 1095, 1096, 1105, 1182

Ronald Clyne; R. Clyne (37)
56, 61, 308, 502, 503, 512, 522, 546, 1008, 1015, 1018, 1038, 1041, 1047, 1055, 1068, 1073, 1075, 1109, 1113, 1118, 1151, 1157, 1158, 1179, 1181, 1189, 1207, 1221, 1225, 1231, 1232, 1234, 3024, 3030, 3063, 3065

Ismar David (18)
28, 69, 100, 101, 102, 106, 108, 109, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 576, 834, 1120, 1126, 1148
Primary cover artist for the Journal for Theology and the Church sub-series.

Marian Ebert (20)
22, 42, 49, 52, 99, 309, 505, 807, 1014, 1024, 1026, 1031, 1039, 1050, 1053, 1138, 1152, 1250, 1268, 1313

Ben Feder (4)
37, 46, 507, 1080

Lidia Ferrara (4)
1399, 1486, 1495, 1513

Guy Fleming (41)
83/383, 135, 384, 386, 508, 509, 516, 520, 531, 532, 539, 540,541, 549, 553, 559, 1020, 1051, 1052, 1069, 1134, 1146, 1159, 1195, 1206, 1455, 1514, 3001, 3002, 3003, 3004, 3009, 3010, 3016, 3017, 3018, 3032, 3033, 3034, 3038, 3039
Primary cover artist for the Rise of Modern Europe sub-series (including 3001-3039).

Ed Fox (6)
80, 93, 105, 1072, 1106, 1244

Milton Glaser (8)
15, 87, 1010, 1076, 1101, 1102, 1285, 1294

Charles Gottlieb (27)
44/344, 50/2050, 55, 123, 127, 305, 501, 521, 523, 578, 581, 1002, 1011, 1012, 1116, 1123, 1131, 1183, 1190, 1197, 1200, 1209, 1216, 1236, 1537, 2019, 3015

Janet Halverson (8)
558, 1028, 1037, 1074, 1104, 2003, 2021, 3019

Arthur Hawkins (4)
574, 1017, 1029, 1228

Margo Herr (18)
124, 126, 302, 838, 1057, 1098, 1124, 1143, 1238, 1243, 1259, 1262, 1263, 1298, 1522, 1536, 1589, 3078

Helene Kenny (6)
317, 385, 1312, 1413, 1451, 1502

Robert Korn; R. Korn (18)
504, 518, 526, 533, 535, 548, 565, 568, 571, 575, 577, 579, 1081, 1127, 1173, 1174, 1235, 1245

Barbara Kruger (4)
1482, 1519, 1530, 1551

Herbert Levitt; Herb Levitt (10)
78, 307, 519, 545, 582, 1211, 1255, 1256, 1283, 1297

Riki Levinson (5)
111, 136, 1013, 1223, 2017

Joseph Low (4)
89, 104, 121, 148

Elaine Lustig (6)
801, 803, 806, 808, 817, 823

Emily McCully (4)
92,1247,1260,1375

Mike McIver (4)
1443, 1444, 1525, 1545

Richard Milone (15)
146,149, 1252, 1253, 1267, 1278, 1279, 1291, 1366, 1376, 1377, 1442, 1479, 1491, 3072

Robert Moskowitz; Robert Moskovitz (8)
1407, 1418, 1420, 1427, 1450, 1489, 1498, 1527

Al Nagy (25)
11, 131, 132, 311, 542, 547, 557, 1025, 1054, 1058, 1083, 1085, 1093, 1094, 1111, 1160, 1161, 1162, 1192, 1208, 1214, 1215, 1220, 1233, 1651, (1784)

Noneman and Noneman (6)
1363, 1365, 1372,1387, 1497, (1763)

David November (11)
45, 57, 521, 1063, 1258, 1302, 1305, 1326, 1440, 1469, 3046

Marc Portman (5)
133, 586, 1092, 1107, 1205

Ellen Raskin (33)
5 , 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 25, 26, 28, 31, 32, 39, 43, 51, 60, 62, 74, 91,110, 117, 304, 1006, 1030, 1048, 1061, 1088, 1089. 115, 1129, 1139, 1163, 1196

Peter Rauch (6)
1217, 1226, 1251, 1300, 1342, 1383

Abram Rudisill; Abe Rudisill (4)
543, 552, 556, 1033

Emanuel Schongut (7)
840, 1336, 1351, 1389, 1392, 1430, 1462

Miriam Schottland (6)
75, 97/397, 125, 137, 139, 310

Elke Schwarz (Sigal) (5)
1403, 1408, 1422, 1473, 1524

Jacqueline Schuman (29)
130, 312, 315, 835, 839, 1090, 1091, 1114, 1132, 1142, 1160, 1168, 1184, 1185, 1212, 1240, 1241, 1242, 1270, 1271, 1272, 1273, 1295, 1340, 1346, 1414, 2006, 2013, 3051
Primary cover artist for History of Europe sub-series.

Vincent Scotti (and Associates) (4)
1368, 1453, 1516, 1517

Anita Siegel; Seigal (6)
1307, 1327, 1328, 1339, 1404, 1461

Shirley Smith (14)
12, 65, 66, 68, 77, 84, 95, 511, 1150, 1199, 1213, 2011, 2015, 3060

James A. Starrett (8)
1384, 1385, 1409, 1439, 1447, 1481, 1501, 1508

Pat Steir (11)
1303, 1311, 1323, 1325, 1329, 1344, 1369, 1441, 1464, 1483, 1528

Lajos Szalay (5)
79, 1066, 1067, 1237, 3008

Alexander Tsao; Alex Tsao (16)
33, 34, 58, 63, 76, 86, 113, 114, 115, 119, 515, 529, 1004, 1062, 1144, 2004

Anita Walker Scott; Anita Walker (24)
1007, 1016, 1028, 1035, 1040, 1077, 1401, 1410, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 3006, 3007, 3011, 3012, 3025,, 3026, 3027, 3028, 3044, 3077, 3084, 3525

Miriam Woods (9)
53, 54, 71, 72, 140, 141, 2016, 3501, 3053

S. Zagorski; Stanislas Zagorski (4)
1154, 1176, 1187, 1207


About the Author:
John A. Mellman is a retired biostatistician. He and his wife June live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.


Related Pages
• Harper Torchbooks - Book Series List
• The Harper Torchbooks Series: A History and Personal Assessment

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