Original Collection of Reference Photographs for Romance Illustration
Remarkable set of original posed photographs mostly likely for a romance novel cover, sent to comics artist and CIA illustrator John Fantucchio.
Near fine.
Price: $500.00
Original Collection of Reference Photographs for Romance Illustration
"One photographer, Robert Osonitsch, works for nearly all the New York artists, and his studio is a Disneyland of props and costumes..." – THE BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING
By the period of these photographs, the established method used by US publishers for designing romance covers began first in the photography studio: models would be posed in various intimate embraces (known in the industry as "the clinch"). Artists would then work from these photographs to create paintings for reproduction on the paperback wrappers.
Housed in the original mailing envelope sent from Robert Osonitsch, Ltd. Photography in New York to Fantucchio in Arlington, VA, the photographs in this collection exemplify the classic clinch cover poses of the golden age of romance cover illustration: two unidentified models, a man and a woman, pose in several dozen variations of a dramatic embrace, kneeling in front of or perched precariously on an unassuming beige studio couch. The Osonitsch studios catered to illustrators of all genres in need of photo references, notably to romance cover great Elaine Duillo among a host of others.
Intriguingly, Fantucchio is not best known – if known at all – for romance illustration. An academically trained commercial artist, Fantucchio was a prominent figure in comics fandom of the '60s and '70s who also drew stories for VAMPIRELLA and CREEPY; but in addition to appearing in comics publications and fine art group shows, some of Fantucchio's work was created for the most select, if not selective, audience of all: the CIA, where he was an illustrator and art director between 1963 and 1988.
Much of Fantucchio's public output is uncatalogued and underdiscussed, partly because of its volume and the wide variety of markets and audiences for which he worked, and partly because his admirers from the comics/fanzine world have concentrated their attentions almost exclusively on his achievements in that genre. And while we have no evidence that CIA was at any point running either a covert propaganda campaign or a secret in-house experimental program involving the powerful Art of the Clinch, it must be admitted that we also have no evidence that they were not.
Read more: "The Artistry of John G. Fantucchio," fantucchio.com; The Business of Publishing: A PW Anthology.
The Object
(New York): (Robert Osonitsch, Ltd), (1982). 12'' x 15'' (mailing envelope). Original mailing envelope with Osonitsch studio label mounted to upper left corner, hand-addressed to Fantuccio, with postage and postmark to upper right corner. Contents: 22 3.5'' x 5'' color Kodak photographs, dated Nov 1982; 33 11'' x 8.5 black and white photocopied sheets, primarily of images from the same photo set, from which three have been cut, mounted on heavy card and cropped with tape borders; two 17.5'' x 12'' poster-quality black and white enlargements printed on heavy paper, horizontally folded, with eight similar enlarged prints cut to approximately 12'' x 12''; and 9 14'' x 11'' uncut sheets of 6 glossy black and white photographs each. Sparse marginal notation to sheets; a few creases and minor toning; most items near fine or better. Edgewear and tearing to outer mailing envelope.
The Fine Print
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