Thursday will see Canada Post release "Great Canadian Illustrators," five stamps celebrating the work of Will Davies, Blair Drawson, Gérard DuBois, James Hill, and Anita Kunz.
Though all five supplied art for books and magazines, the Will Davies stamp will be of particular interest to bibliophiles in that it features one of the more than 500 cover illustrations he did for Harlequin.
Curiously, Canada Post doesn't identify the book in question, but seconds of sleuthing reveals it to be Neptune's Daughter, a 1987 novel by British reporter and romance writer Jay Blakeney (published under her "Anne Weale" nom de plume).
I think Canada Post chose well. Of the Davies covers I've seen – admittedly, nowhere near 500 – it's by far my favourite. Viewed one after another, there's a sameness to his Harlequin work.
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| That Dear Perfection Alison York Toronto: Harlequin, 1988 |
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| Fortunes of Love Jessica Steele Toronto: Harlequin, 1988 |
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| No Angel Jeanne Allan Toronto: Harlequin, 1991 |
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| Anything for You Rosemary Hammond Toronto: Harlequin, 1992 |
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| Unfriendly Proposition Jessica Steele Toronto: Harlequin, 1990 |
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| The Canadian Caper Jean Pelletier and Claude Adams Toronto: PaperJacks, 1982 |
I'm getting sidetracked.
Davies died two years ago. Everything I've read has it that he was a kind man with a passion for cars. I don't much care about automobiles myself, and yet can't help but be drawn to illustrations like this:
No pun intended.
Canadians, shall we celebrate the day by writing a love letter? What better way to send it than with a stamp born of a Harlequin Romance.
Related posts:
The Brilliance of Frank Newfeld
McClelland's Experiment, Newfeld's Art
In Appreciation of Syd Dyke, Illustrator
McClelland's Experiment, Newfeld's Art
In Appreciation of Syd Dyke, Illustrator
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