Sleep No More was the first of three 1940s anthologies of fantasy and horror stories edited by August Derleth and illustrated by Lee Brown Coye. Featuring classics by M. R. James, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Bloch, Jacobi, Collier, Wakefield, Long and many other noted authors of the macabre genre, many of these stories made their initial appearance in "Weird Tales" magazine. The anthology is considered to be a classic of the genre, and is the initial foray by Coye into the field of horror illustration. I'm betting that many of you who visit my blogs have already seen most of these nightmarish images, (and you'll have to figure out which image goes with which tale as I didn't post them below in order with the table of contents-- sorry!) --but have you seen them all, err minus the cover art which is unfortunately missing? CLICK HERE for more info on this book. And a huge thank you goes out to THOIA / AEET friend, JMR, who was kind enough to send me this book along with a lot of other great items slated for future posts. Stay tombed for more...
6 comments:
I first heard of Coye from Carcosa (Karl Wagner's book publishing) and have loved his art eversince. There is a nice collection of Coye's art, Arts Unknown. There is a signed edition of Carcosa's first publication, with Coye's autograph. I was unware of this book. If I win the lottery I will look for a copy! Thanks for sharing your book!
Wow! Like George Grosz crossed with Jack Cole.
I am glad you liked the book, and I am glad it ended up in the hands of someone who would appreciate it even more than I did. It didn't have the cover when I bought it at a thrift store some years back, though if it had, it would have been snatched up before I found it.
Your scans make the illustrations appear even better than what is found between its pages. You did a better job than I could have done.
After seeing your scans, I just noticed that the thirteenth scan, the man in black, holding a book and clutching his cloak, he looks similar to Rondo Hatton.
Hopefully, we will see some more of the images in the future or feature a repost each October.
And once again, thank you for all of your posts on THOIA and AEET.
I love all of these; I love the stark black and white (and sometimes filled and sometimes lined), I love the long, extended flowing bodies.
Good use of negative space in both black and whites.
Gorgeous stuff!
Super duper. I don't own this one, surprisingly, though of course I have all the stories in other versions. Most with illustrations that, ah, may not be as good as these. Coye's range is quite remarkable. He goes from a classic block printing look for the Black Stone to stuff far more shapey and strange, like the illustration in the seventh scan. I also really love the fine line work in that one, on that rat attack in the first full illustration you've posted, and the grotesque faces throughout.
It's a pretty great table of contents, too. So funny to see a Lovecraft story by Lovecraft and a Lovecraft story by Howard, too. The Yellow Sign is a favorite in this house, itself a rather eldritch and esoteric horror that hints at the spooky cosmic unknown. There must have been something in the water back then. Something out of space, I gather.
Glad everyone enjoyed this post, and I will absolutely deliver more Coye posts in the future if any of his other book illustrations happen to fall into my possession. Another huge thanks goes to JMR for the wonderful gift!
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