These are not very many Robert Fawcett books, either by him or about him and here they are.
The first one, would have to be, "How I Make a Picture", written for the Fantastic Artists, Advanced Course binder. Published in 1949, it is quite the collectors item and in a perfect, complete state, it commands a good price...$600 USD.
This is my copy, which is missing a couple of full colour prints, a fold out reproduction of a tracing paper sketch and one of the course pages...but it also cost me a whole lot less than $600!
It is a phenomenal look, into the mind behind the artwork and the thought process behind their creation. Having read it, finally, I am convinced that the comic book artist Alex Toth, had to have read it and been severely affected by it...to the point, of changing his approach to drawing; eschewing complexity and fine detail, in favour of simplicity and directness.
I can thoroughly recommend any and all of the publications, from the Two Morrows publishing empire, as they are all uniformly excellent.
(1958)
I bought this at the Dragon Lady, for the princely sum of $30, years and years ago, when they were down on Queen Street West and it has been with me ever since. It is as oddly philosophical, as the binder he wrote for the Famous Artists course, which he wrote almost ten years earlier.
It was also, as far as I remember, the first "Stolen from the library of Fred G. Ivory", used book and as the years rolled by, I have accumulated a few more. I always wondered who F. G. Ivory was and just today, I think I finally tracked him down.
The facts all fit, as does his age, at the point that the Fawcett book was was published. There is a file card, in between the pages, that has the date 1960 written on it and Fred's notations, about passages in the book, that he thought were important. I always thought, that he had to be in the graphics field, or an artist, based on his buying the book...so to discover that Fred was a commercial artist and a silk screener, is wonderful!
(1980)
This one, came through the mail, ordered from Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr. and Bud Plant Illustrated Books. Some time around 1990, I think, because by 1995 or so, I had stopped buying stuff from them…with a couple of exceptions…because the Canadian Customs Men began levying duty on anything coming in from America!
(2010)
This one, is a great book and Manuel Auad has published some beauties in his time!
I cannot believe that it has been ten years since it was published, it still seems like a brand NEW book to me! LOL
It ha also appreciated in price, significantly, since 2010 and what was a $60 book, is now being offered for anywhere between $280 (used) and $1800 (new)…I kid you not!
