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Post by dem bones on Nov 20, 2008 14:37:30 GMT
Found this illustration to H. C. Bailey's Sir Bertram's Tryst in a bound volume of The Strand covering June-November 1905, thought it was tasteful enough for Vault. The story itself is enjoyable enough for the most part. Set in medieval Wales when men were either bold or nasty knights and women were holy heroines whoever's side they happened to be on, it tells of how nice Denis and his bride, the fair Enid (that's her in the picture), were abducted by the brutal Percy de Vigue and cronies and forced, at red-hot poker point, to betray Sir Bertram. All the main players take a turn at being bound and gagged, and Bailey is fine at creating an atmosphere of impending torture and total doom, but, you know, The Strand was hardly The Pan Book Of Horror Stories so you have to wait until 1967 and Raymond Williams' The Assassin to get the correct ending.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 8, 2014 10:52:14 GMT
Time was when i would pick up bound volumes of Victorian mags dirt cheap from a stall on Cheshire street (i.e.,early - mid nineties, before a lethal combination of "regeneration" and yuppie slime entrepreneur killed Brick Lane market good as dead.) They're fascinating, but it now seems obvious to me why the previous owners would wish to offload them. (1) They weigh a bloody ton. (2) Collect over twenty and you'll need a palatial abode roughly the size of Scotland to store 'em. (3) Even should you manage to batter them onto a shelf, to remove one is to risk the whole lot collapsing on you and likely taking out a wall. But - they make for fascinating reading, and you can usually count on at least one better-than-decent ghost or horror story per volume. And then, of course, there's the artwork. Here's a mini-gallery. Fred M. White - The Purple Terror (Sept. 1899) by Paul HardyGertrude Bacon - The Gorgon's Head (Dec. 1899) by W. S. StaceyErckmann-Chatrian- The Spider Of Guyana (Jan. 1899) by Paul HardyMiss Braddon - Good Lady Ducayne (Feb. 1896) by Gordon Browne, RBAMiss Edith E. Cuthell - A Horrible Honeymoon (Jan. 1896) by Paul HardyVictor L. Whitechurch - The Convict's Revenge (Feb. 1898) by Gordon Browne, RBA
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Post by thecoffinflies on Feb 15, 2014 17:13:27 GMT
Good Lord, The Spider Of Guyana! Memories.
I also have that volume of The Strand, bought it with pocket money in the late 1980s. The pictures of the Spider fascinated me when I was 9, 10, 11 - but I haven't thought about them for years and certainly never thought I'd see them again on the internet...
Funny thing is, I never read the story, just stared at the fab pictures. Is the story any good?
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Post by dem bones on Feb 15, 2014 19:30:14 GMT
Good Lord, The Spider Of Guyana! Memories. I also have that volume of The Strand, bought it with pocket money in the late 1980s. The pictures of the Spider fascinated me when I was 9, 10, 11 - but I haven't thought about them for years and certainly never thought I'd see them again on the internet... Funny thing is, I never read the story, just stared at the fab pictures. Is the story any good? Thought it was bloody good, myself! Seventy years on Hugh Lamb revived it in a different translation as The Crab Spider for A Taste Of Fear, with the story providing inspiration for Alan Lee's cover artwork.
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Post by thecoffinflies on Mar 7, 2014 16:19:00 GMT
Ah, I shall dig it out and give it a read over the weekend! x
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