A January 1936 pulp magazine, a silver-tooled leather belt, an engraved cap pistol, and a length of rusted barbed wire come together against weathered wood in this trompe l’oeil still life. It’s a painting about the Old West as it was sold to Depression-era readers: ten cents of adventure.
The pulp cover is the centerpiece. A rider in a yellow-green shirt wheels his chestnut horse through a sunlit landscape, a pistol in each hand, while a cheerful red-and-yellow starburst announces “Now 10¢.” Across the top, the Wild West Weekly masthead promises “All Stories Complete,” and a black arrow teases “His Guns Talked for Him.” Below, the headline story, “The Whispering Rider,” is credited to Les Bond. Every painted letter and brushstroke of the cover illustration is rendered with the care of the original printer’s art.
Around the magazine, the real West pushes in. A black leather belt with an ornate silver buckle and engraved conchos stretches across the top of the composition. A gleaming cap pistol with scrolled engraving angles in from the right, its chrome barrel and grip catching the light, and coils of barbed wire wrap the whole arrangement and tie the objects together. Behind it all, the grain and knots of sun-bleached barn wood swirl in rich grays and tans, with each object casting a believable shadow.
The result is a nostalgic, tactile piece that rewards close looking, and one that will appeal to collectors of Western art, still life, and vintage Americana.
A January 1936 pulp magazine, a silver-tooled leather belt, an engraved cap pistol, and a length of rusted barbed wire come together against weathered wood in this trompe l’oeil still life. It’s a painting about the Old West as it was sold to Depression-era readers: ten cents of adventure.
The pulp cover is the centerpiece. A rider in a yellow-green shirt wheels his chestnut horse through a sunlit landscape, a pistol in each hand, while a cheerful red-and-yellow starburst announces “Now 10¢.” Across the top, the Wild West Weekly masthead promises “All Stories Complete,” and a black arrow teases “His Guns Talked for Him.” Below, the headline story, “The Whispering Rider,” is credited to Les Bond. Every painted letter and brushstroke of the cover illustration is rendered with the care of the original printer’s art.
Around the magazine, the real West pushes in. A black leather belt with an ornate silver buckle and engraved conchos stretches across the top of the composition. A gleaming cap pistol with scrolled engraving angles in from the right, its chrome barrel and grip catching the light, and coils of barbed wire wrap the whole arrangement and tie the objects together. Behind it all, the grain and knots of sun-bleached barn wood swirl in rich grays and tans, with each object casting a believable shadow.
The result is a nostalgic, tactile piece that rewards close looking, and one that will appeal to collectors of Western art, still life, and vintage Americana.