Contemporary racing magazine creative directors take note: these Sports Car Graphic covers from 1963 and 1964 are absolutely astounding. With such a wealth of fantastic automotive artists out there, It’s a pity that the notion of the illustrated magazine cover is about as dead as it can be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an enormous fan of a brilliant cover photograph. I do think, however, that if one of the racing rags were to try an illustrated cover it couldn’t help but stand out amidst the sea of sameness that is automotive magazine cover design.
0 replies on “In Praise of the Illustrated Magazine Cover”
Good point!
I remember owning some of these very covers you have shown here. Let’s hope someone does the right thing…
Amen!
http://www.allardregister.org/home/2011/2/28/old-magazine-covers-part-6.html
I too remember owning these mags. SCG was a favorite of mine even though I was a couple years away from driving. Went to get rid of these and a friend of mine saved all these from the trash and still has them to this day.
As I recall, Keith Martin tried to use illustrations/art on the cover of Sports Car Market. Despite disparaging letters to the editor, he stuck with it for a long time. Did he finally go generic when SCM appeared on the newsstands and sought a wider subscription base?