Lady, if you don't stop blocking my view I'm going to strangle you and leave you buried with the pharaohs.
We never go long without sharing art from French illustrator Jef de Wulf, and here he is again doing cover work for publisher Éditions de la Flamme d'Or and author Jacques Destier, whose Egyptian adventure Nioussia l'insaisissable was published in 1954. Destier was a pseudonym used by Jacques Thinus. If your French is rusty, Nioussia, l'insaisissable means “Nioussia, the elusive.” See de Wulf at his best here and here, and we'll have more from him a bit later.
… blah blah blah … free you from sin and save you … name of the lord ... amen. Okay, all done, guys. Cook him.
En deux manches et une belle... translates to, “In two sleeves and a beautiful..." offering us no idea of its actual meaning. Doubtless this is another French colloquialism. The author is Patrick Rock, an obvious pseudonym. These can be difficult to untangle, but in this case the main clue comes from the fact that the translator Louis Valgrand is listed on the cover. That sort of attribution is somewhat rare. And considering the fact that this book was almost certainly never actually written in English, but rather was part of the wave of French language imitations of American crime novels, we suspect Valgrand was the author. Probably the publishers Éditions Flamme d'Or wanted to Americanize the novel with an appropriate sounding pseudonym, but Valgrand couldn't forego seeing his name on the cover. Don't cite us on that. It's still just a guess, but one that makes sense. The cover art is by René Brantonne and the copyright is 1952.
Trouble is breathing down her neck. Above, an eyecatching piece of Jef de Wulf art fronting Le dragon vert, or The Green Dragon, written by Bob Arnal for Editions de la Flamme d'Or. Basically, it's Fu Manchu style Asian Peril fiction about a nefarious criminal organization known as Green Dragon, majorly uncool Chinese cocaine dealers planning to extend their long reach into Europe. 1953 copyright.
Finally, after a lifetime's work—the condiment that will revolutionize how the world eats greenery. Above, Drôle de salade written by Al Caussin, aka Alex Caussin de Perceval, Percy Wall, and Allan Blyth, published 1952 by France's Éditions de la Flamme d’Or, with awesome cover art from Jef de Wulf. Drôle de salade actually means “funny salad,” so you have to wonder what this book is about. In any case, what a bummer it’ll be for the main character when he finds out the term “French dressing” is already in use.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1910—First Seaplane Takes Flight
Frenchman Henri Fabre, who had studied airplane and propeller designs and had also patented a system of flotation devices, accomplishes the first take-off from water at Martinque, France, in a plane he called Le Canard, or "the duck." 1953—Jim Thorpe Dies
American athlete Jim Thorpe, who was one of the most prolific sportsmen ever and won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football at the collegiate and professional levels, and also played professional baseball and basketball, dies of a heart attack. 1958—Khrushchev Becomes Premier
Nikita Khrushchev becomes premier of the Soviet Union. During his time in power he is responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, and presides over the rise of the early Soviet space program, but his many policy failures lead to him being deposed in October 1964. After his removal he is pensioned off and lives quietly the rest of his life, eventually dying of heart disease in 1971. 1997—Heaven's Gate Cult Members Found Dead
In San Diego, thirty-nine members of a cult called Heaven's Gate are found dead after committing suicide in the belief that a UFO hidden in tail of the Hale-Bopp comet was a signal that it was time to leave Earth for a higher plane of existence. The cult members killed themselves by ingesting pudding and applesauce laced with poison.
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