Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Gordon Laite

Gordon Laite
American Illustrator
b. 1925 - d. ?

Our previous posting on Gordon Laite is here.

Laite illustrated this anthology of spooky tales, More Tales To Tremble By in 1968, published by Whitman Publishing for young readers. It includes such classic spooky stories as "Sredni Vashtar" by Saki, "God Grante That She Lye Stille" by Cynthia Asquith, "The Voice In the, Night" by William Hope Hodgson, "The Extra Passenger" by August Derleth, and "Casting the Runes" by M. R. James. As with many of the Whitman books, they were printed cheaply with board covers. The paper has tanned, and many fine details of Laite's outstanding illustrative and contemporary style dropped out in reproduction. Still, I think you'll agree that his illustrations match the creepy stories in this book.

Click on pictures for full-size images.


8 comments:

Mr. Karswell said...

Boy this stuff is fantastic, and right up my haunted alley... need to find more, it all looks vaguely familiar (the style I mean) so it's possible I have something in my book collection too, or at least encountered a Laite thingie in a dark nightmare from my own trembling childhood.

Serilda said...

I loved Gordon Laite's illustrations in the "Blue Book of Fairy Tales" a Golden Book. I cannot find any bio on the artist or any real information at all...Do you have any other information?

Bugman said...

I remember having More Tales to Tremble by as a kid....I enjoy the illustrations as much as the stories. Thanks for posting this one

Ardsgaine said...

Oooh. I have this book! I was reading Casting the Runes to my son from it just the other night.

Joyce Kohn said...

I bought a painting of Gordon's in 1956 at an art fair in the Plaza in Kansas City, MO. It hangs in my living room and I look at it every day with admiration and love. The framer must have loved it, too, because he also framed the title on the back, "Anatomy of Happy Melancholy." I also had him do a sandstone relief for a flower box in the living room of the house I was having built in 1958. I left the state a year later and have never seen it again, but it was prancing deer and lovely. His work was always magical.

Diane Brandon said...

I found this at http://www.askart.com/ on the Gordon Laite page:

"02/28/2010
This is Gina Laite, Gordon's daughter. I've just retired from practice, and now that life is less hectic, I am beginning to collect info for a biography on my father, Gordon Laite. I am getting together some biographical info to post on this site and hope to have it in the bio section soon. Gordon died in 1978 and thirty years later, in 2008, I felt the need to search out all his books. We found most of them through Alibris and AbeBooks online, even some I didn't know he had illustrated! It was my mother's dearest wish to put together a book about Gordon but she is now incapacitated and in a nursing home. I would like to pursue this quest and will very much appreciate any information or photos of my father's work that anyone has. My email address is glaite@hotmail.com. This was the email given when my mother posted her original request back in 2001 and I have received a few photos. Thanks in advance. Gina"

Unknown said...

I have and cherish a beat-up copy of Golden Books' "The Blue Book of Fairy Tales" from my childhood. I also have this book, but didn't realize Mr. Laite did the artwork! I'll have to see whether he also did the illustrations for its predecessor, "Tales to Tremble By."

Klanghofer said...

I have been quite obsessed with your father's illustrations since I was a child. My grandmother would read The Blue Book of Fairy Tales everytime I would visit her. For years I've been collecting books He has illustrated. I've search for years on any info I could find about him. Every few years going back to my search without much luck. I was very excited to see this rather old post. Have you had any such luck with publishing a complete collection of his works? There are some #gordonlaite postings on Instagram but not too many other places to find his works.