EXTRACTS: illustrators issue 3 © 2013 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

48 Andy Virgil Bryn Havord explores the life and work of one of New York City’s leading illustrators. ABOVE: An unpublished painting of a woman in bed, reveals Virgil’s innate sense of design and sublime use of colour. RIGHT: Another personal work, with imaginative use of negative space and dynamic layout, adding Virgil’s distinctive sparkle to his depiction of William F. Buckley Jr. The editor of the National Review. It was in September 1964, and after we had enjoyed a superb dinner, my hosts Andy and Anita Virgil took me into their garden for a breath of fresh air. It had been a terrific evening until then, when they frightened the life out of me, telling me about the indigenous and venomous copperhead snakes which could be found in their garden. I encouraged Anita to make some coffee so that I could get back to safety inside the house. I had been an admirer of Andy Virgil’s work as a romantic fiction illustrator since the late 1950s. At the time of my visit, I was working as the art director of Woman’s Mirror , a photogravure magazine published in London, with weekly sales of 1.2 million copies. I subscribed to all the major women’s magazines published in the USA, as well as the Saturday Evening Post, Sports Illustrated, and Boys’ Life, so was familiar with the work of all the leading American illustrators. I was on one of my trips to New York City, visiting photographers and illustrators who I occasionally commissioned to produce work for me, and wanted Virgil to produce the illustrations for an eight-part serial entitled Hunter, Hunter, Get Your Gun, set in the American south. The Virgils lived in Kinnelon, New Jersey, and when I arrived for dinner, was delighted to discover that they lived in a traditional colonial house which was built in 1847, and which had been exquisitely furnished in the colonial style; all of which fitted perfectly with the settings described in the serial. Virgil’s London agent, Albert Landau, of the Transworld Feature Syndicate, had offices in London, Paris, and New York City, and made the arrangements for me to meet Virgil so we could discuss the serial. I gave him the text, divided into weekly parts, and gave him a rough idea of the type