![PAY TO PLAY](/images/headline/6952.png) Four thousand nine hundred... four thousand nine hundred fifty... Hmm... Make it an even five thousand, then maybe. ![](/images/postimg/pay_to_play.jpg)
Above: A paticualrly nice Franco Picchioni cover for Per piacere, non toccate le signore!, written by Mark Wheeler for Edizioni MA-GA and published in 1965 as part of its Il Cerchio Rosso collection. The title means, “please don't touch the ladies.” You can get more peeks at Picchioni by clicking his keywords below.
![STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT](/images/headline/6814.png) New and improved Picchioni dance tights! They'll never tear a seam, even if your body does! ![](/images/postimg/stretched_to_the_limit.jpg)
Italian illustrator Franco Picchioni conceived a balletic cover pose for John J. Everett's Assi allo sbaraglio. If we tried this position everything we have would split down the middle, up to and including our pride. The title of the book translates to “aces in disarray,” so we'd be suffering from asses in disarray. But speaking of stretched to the limit, let's stop with this strain of thought before it wears out completely. John J. Everett was a pseudonym, of course, but we don't know for whom, and his novel is part of Edizioni MA-GA's Il Cerchio Rosso collection, though we can't pinpoint the year. Nothing is working for us today, but we'll bend over backwards trying to find more info.
![READY FOR TEDDY](/images/headline/6768.png) Gratuitous sex and Violenza. ![](/images/postimg/ready_for_teddy.jpg)
Seems like time for another cover from Italian illustrator Franco Picchioni, so here's his always excellent work on Patrick McRoy's Violenza in nero, from 1966 for publishers Edizioni MA-GA as part of its Il Cerchio Rosso collection. Haven't we seen this pose from Picchioni before? Well, never mess with success. He even painted the same undergarment (a strapless teddy, we think). McRoy is an obvious pseudonym but we can't track down his real name. Anyone with knowledge, feel free to enlighten us. And not just about books. We're mixed up on a lot of stuff these days.
![DIRTY RATS](/images/headline/6750.png) Don't look at the human. He can't help you. We're taking over this town, and that means you answer to us now. ![](/images/postimg/dirty_rats.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dirty_rats_02.jpg)
We've circled back to Italian illustrator Franco Picchioni again because we love his style, and he delivers once more on this cover for Requiem per un giornalista. Obviously, “giornalista” is Italian for “journalist,” so feel free insert your own quips about the press at this point. The book was written by Obvious Pseudonym, and it's copyright 1970 for Edizione MA-GA, a company that took cover art seriously after many other publishers had thrown in the towel. This is nice work from Picchioni. We also found a cleaner piece of the art. It isn't that different, except you get to see the always neglected Rat no. 3, who was covered by text on the final version. You can see more from Picchioni by clicking his keywords below.
![PURE GENIO](/images/headline/6670.png) Franco Picchioni is bad as in good. ![](/images/postimg/pure_genio.jpg)
Franco Picchioni's hits keep coming. Above is another cover from the respected Italian artist, this time for Georges H. Boskero's Il genio del male, number twenty-two in the crime series Il Cerchio Rosso from Edizioni MA-GA, 1965. The title translates to “evil genius.” In terms of Picchioni, we'll certainly go with genius. See more from him starting at this link.
![IDOL CURIOSITY](/images/headline/6350.png) Okay, no peeking. And this time I mean all of you. ![](/images/postimg/idol_curiosity.jpg)
Above: Raymond Connoleer's set-in-Mexico 1965 crime novel Morte d'un idolo, which was published by Edizioni MA-GA's series Federal Bureau of Investigation Stories. Connoleer is a pseudonym but we couldn't dig up his real name. Lot of that going around lately. The unusual cover is uncredited, but it's Franco Picchioni for sure, yet another great illustration from a unique talent. See a few of his best here, here, and here.
![FASHIONABLY FELONIOUS](/images/headline/5963.png) Always look your best for a crime spree. ![](/images/postimg/fashionably_felonious.jpg)
Italian publishers Edizioni MA-GA strike again with another cover image by Franco Picchioni, this time for Jeff Kristopher's 1965 thriller 10 Lettere d'Amore. Kristopher is of course a pseudonym but we aren't able to discern for whom. We may have luck with that later, though. In any case, this is a cool image, and odd too, the way the fashionable femme fatale doesn't match her reflection. In the mirror she's leaning her head much farther to her right. We like that touch. But then we like everything Picchioni does.
![PLENTY AMORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM](/images/headline/5889.png) 5,000 volts, amps, ohms—whatever. The point is I'm gonna blow your mind. ![](/images/postimg/plenty_amore_where_that_came_from.jpg)
Volts, joules, watts, kilowatts, jigawatts—we get units of energy mixed up. But this cover is electric however you measure it. William (undoubtedly a pseudonym) Bentley's 1964 thriller Amore a 5000 volts is another example of Edizioni MA-GA's Il Cerchio Rosso series, which has produced consistently excellent cover art. This one is uinsigned, but probably by Franco Picchioni. Click the keywords below and you'll see what we mean.
Edit: the art is confirmed by Picchioni, plus we found the original.
![THE DARK SIDE OF VENUS](/images/headline/5770.png) She's usually the goddess of love but this has been a bad week. ![](/images/postimg/the_dark_side_of_venus.jpg)
We meant to get right back to Italian illustrator Franco Picchioni, but in typical fashion it's taken us a few years. But today you see another of his nice creations, this time for Georges H. Boskero's Le Veneri ardenti, which translates to The Fiery Venus. It was published in 1966 by Edizioni MA-GA for its Il Cerchio Rosso series, a series of thrillers that featured some of the best Italian cover art of the period. We'll show you some of those in a bit and at the same time revisit Franco's art. In the meantime, check out what he did with a James Bond cover here.
![SEASON OF THE ITCH](/images/headline/4291.png) This ought to really blow your skirt up. ![](/images/postimg/season_of_the_itch.jpg)
Above is an epic Italian poster for the film The Seven Year Itch, which in Italy was called Quando la moglie è in vacanza, or “when the wife is on vacation.” They probably changed the title because Italians don't understand the concept of a seven year itch. They have a seven week itch—it happens about seven weeks before the wedding. The art here is by P. Franco, aka Franco Picchioni, whose work you can find more of by clicking his keywords below. There's also a very interesting West German poster for the film here.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
2003—Hope Dies
Film legend Bob Hope dies of pneumonia two months after celebrating his 100th birthday. 1945—Churchill Given the Sack
In spite of admiring Winston Churchill as a great wartime leader, Britons elect
Clement Attlee the nation's new prime minister in a sweeping victory for the Labour Party over the Conservatives. 1952—Evita Peron Dies
Eva Duarte de Peron, aka Evita, wife of the president of the Argentine Republic, dies from cancer at age 33. Evita had brought the working classes into a position of political power never witnessed before, but was hated by the nation's powerful military class. She is lain to rest in Milan, Italy in a secret grave under a nun's name, but is eventually returned to Argentina for reburial beside her husband in 1974. 1943—Mussolini Calls It Quits
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini steps down as head of the armed forces and the government. It soon becomes clear that Il Duce did not relinquish power voluntarily, but was forced to resign after former Fascist colleagues turned against him. He is later installed by Germany as leader of the Italian Social Republic in the north of the country, but is killed by partisans in 1945.
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