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.

Anton Loeb

Anton Loeb
? - ?
Animator/illustrator

I'm unable to find out much about Anton Loeb, except that he worked as an animator for various studios, including the Fleischer Brothers, who produced the Popeye cartoons. If you know anything about Loeb, please share the information.

He did the illustrations for this version of The Wizard Of Oz, adapted by Allan Chaffee from L. Frank Baum's 1900 classic original. This abridged version was published and ©1950 by Random House.

Click on pictures for full-size images.

Maud and Miska Petersham

Maud and Miska Petersham
Miska Petersham born in Hungary 1888 - died in U.S. 1960
Maud Fuller Petersham born 1890 - died 1971

The husband and wife art team of Maud and Miska Petersham won a Caldecott Medal in 1946 for The Rooster Crows. They illustrated nearly 100 books, both for other authors and written by themselves.

The Billy Bang Book by Mabel Gunnip La Rue was published in 1929 by MacMillan as a school reader. The two-color illustrations of anthropomorphic animals and their friendship with a little boy are done in a beautiful 1920s style.

Click on pictures for full-size images.