A few pages about some of the cover artists used by PAN
With Sam ‘PEFF’ Peffer
With Neville Dear
and coming up shortly
Brian Sanders
John Raynes
and if anyone knows where I can find any other artists especially Glenn Steward and Pat Owen I would love to hear from you.
Nik Henville says:
My father (Peter Allingham Henville) did a number of covers, Agatha Chrisie’s amongst them, during the sixties/seventies. His “agent” (Bowen Davies?) always insisted they needed to be “unatributed”, which always seemed strange. I do recall the artwork was almost photographicaly detailed close-ups – and I recall a “mantra” which went “No blood, no guns and NO purple…..”
tikitnet says:
I’m sorry to say I’ve not heard of your father but I know of Tony Bowen-Davies, who was not only employed by Pan’s Art Department, but was also the art agent who provided Pan with virtually all their cover artists from the early 50s onwards, ie. Artists Limited,
PAN did have a strange regime when it came to attributing artists to covers where some allowed to feature prominently such as W F Phillipps, S R Boldero and Sam PEFF Peffer but I’ve never worked out why but John Raynes gets named as the atist inside books featuring his work? Others sneaked their names in the middle of the cover but most were told to sign as close to the edge as possible so when PAN trimmed the covers the names got chopped off! I was told this by a PAN cover artist. I also have scan of over 500 original artworks and many show signatures that don’t appear on the finished work, some mysteriously disappearing. Interestingly I found a couple where the front and back feature the same image and where you can see a signature on the back!
Does anyone know any attributable titles and editions as most of the PAN Christies I have from the 60 can be identified. What about the 70’s?
Terry Gilbert says:
Artist who illustrated many paperback covers.
tikitnet says:
Hi, Just searching around on Google but can’t find out if Terry did any covers for PAN? Cheers, Tim
pete says:
hi
i have a water colour of a 1947 Triumph hanging on my wall
tikitnet says:
Hi Mr Giles, I’m always pleased to get comments on the site but I have to admit to being a bit puzzled by yours. I see you are into French cars and properties and can understand why you may have a painting of a car on your wall but it’s the link with PAN paperback books that eludes me. Is it by an artist who also did covers? Tim
Spike Garrett says:
Are you the Peter Henville I worked with in the 50s at Art In Marketing, Shoe Lane? If so, you bought me my first LP record when I left for National Service.
tikitnet says:
Hi Spike, I think you’ve got the wrong blog, I don’t know a Peter Henville. Sorry. Tim
Paul Wright says:
Hello Spike , I have just read your post regards to Peter Henville. I have just purchased a painting by him and I’m trying to find out a little more about his other work and where he fits in . I understand he did a lot of commercial work but I can’t find much detail .
Thanks
Paul
alison Corney says:
Hi nick just read your blog and am currently researching your father. I recently found an old painting in a nursing home in the skip, it is a watercolour of a ww2 hurricane and is signed peter a henville, could it possibly be by your father?
tikitnet says:
Hi Alison, Sorry to say I think things have got a bit mixed up as this blog has nothing to do with Peter Henville. Hopefully Nick will see this comment and get in contact. Cheers, Tim
Derek Stowe says:
Hello
In my early twenties I worked for that lovely man – George Kamm.
I produced some 20 covers at that time for him, including ‘A Kid for Two Farthings’ and ‘The Desperate Hours’. These were published as Book of the Film.
I left Pan at the advent Of Tony Bowen-Davies and joined – I hope this isn’t a dirty word for you – Panther!
My regards / Derek Stowe
tikitnet says:
Hi Derek, Many thanks for the comment and I’m always really pleased to hear from the artists themselves so I’ve sent you an email and I hope to be able to add more to the website shortly. Cheers, Tim