Whilst cataloguing this collection of Lilliput magazines it became apparent that the same man, woman and little black dog were appearing on many of the covers.
According to Wikipedia;
Walter Trier provided the front cover design for every issue of the magazine from its inception in 1937 until 1949. It seems the dog belonged to Walter Trier, and the story goes that the little dog was run over and killed by a tram. Walter Trier then immortalised his dog on the covers of Lilliput; the idea was said to be light-hearted, but I think it’s rather sad.
Lilliput is a pocket-size magazine, designed; legend has it, to fit into a trench coat pocket during sentry duty. Featuring short stories, cartoons, and articles; it also included what were, for the time, fairly daring photographs of 'artistic' female nudes. After 1949, the work of many different artists, including K. D. Eastman, Peynet and Fitton featured on the front covers.
At its commencement, Lilliput was intended for a general audience but after the Second World War, it became a men's magazine and in July 1960 merged with Men Only.
I was attracted to these because of the artwork on the covers. The one in the centre of the bottom row is my favourite because it reminds me of Valentine's Day. Have you seen any of these before? Do you like the artwork?
UPDATE July 2015
This one is from March 1938
I never seen these before. I love the covers on all of them.
ReplyDeleteHi Donna, thanks for calling in. I love them all too!
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful covers, and the story of the artist's dog is touching. Thank you for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting what you notice when you look at many "somethings" all together. Meaning- looking at each magazine on its own the dog and people being the same may not stand out. But, once you have a whole bunch of them together it is easy to notice! I thought the story behind the cover is interesting. I like the one you pointed out and I really like the one in the top row with the umbrella. :)
ReplyDeleteThese are so pretty. Looking at them the last thing you would think is that they are magazines for men! I have never heard of them before - the idea of a dinky little magazine is so appealing. I like the first one the most, but it is difficult to single any out as they are all so striking.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome! Thanks for calling.
ReplyDeleteYour right, it was only looking at them all together that made me notice. I thought I had discovered something that nobody else knew about! One quick Google search soon dispelled that notion.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon, I bought them at the Bath & West antiques fair simply because I liked the covers. The man at the stall did a whole wink, wink, nudge, nudge routine while muttering something about lad's mags. I just thought he was a bit odd until I got home and looked inside! The photographs are few and far between and 'hidden' between stories by well known authors. But they must have been quite shocking at the time.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara,
ReplyDeleteThis looks most interesting. I was browsing about this magazine because I just got one, March 1938. Let me know if you'd like a scan. It also has that poor little dog.
Hi there, that would be lovely, thank you. I will pop over to your blog and say hello, Barbara
ReplyDeleteHi Just reading the Big City by Alex Atkinson ( ill,. by Ronald Seale )
ReplyDeleteand feel from the style that A A must be Gulliver from Lilliput . he always had the opening story does anyone know if this is true?
Sorry I can't help with that, but maybe someone reading this will come up with an answer. I hope so anyway. Thanks for visiting my blog, Barbara.
DeleteAny idea who Eastman is? I've been trying to research their identity for quite a while. Also, how sure are we that their initials are "K. D."....????
ReplyDeleteNow you’re asking. It’s been a while since I wrote those words, and I honestly can’t remember where I found the information. Note to self – add sources to posts!
DeleteIt’s possible I read something about it at https://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/ It would certainly be worth your while visiting as it contains masses of information on all kinds of magazine/book related things.