Django wrote:
Anyone have World War II Nose Art in Color by Jeffrey L. Ethell? Is it any good? Will it be all the same photos in "Talisman"
I've heard that "For the Boys" is good but I haven't seen a copy.
The Ethell book you mention (if it's the same on I have) is small format like the rest of his 'WWII in color' series, but it's excellent.
For the Boys is a super groovy book, although I'd say it has more actual pinup artwork than nose art... but I recommend it to any nose art nut.
I have the same book you mentioned as being light on details... it's been released under a number of titles and I think that I wound up with two copies at one point. Same books, different covers. Anyhoo, it's not a horrible book, especially for the casual enthusiast, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a ton of vintage photos.
I'll second what John said about
Vintage Aircraft Nose Art. That's one of the first nose art books I ever had and it's a staple in my library to this day.
A good one for RCAF fans is
Metal Canvas. (Stephen Fochuk, Vanwell)
A good couple of titles for those who can't afford the BIG expensive books (that's me these days) would be
Planes, Names & Dames Vol. I & II. (Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal) Squadron books have been much maligned over the years, and some of the flak is deserved. But they continue to produce decent references for 'the little guy', and I would recommend these two titles to anyone.
If you're into Mustangs,
Mustang Nose Art Gallery is super groovy. I don't have my copy at hand but I believe it was authored by John & Donna Campbell and published by Motorbooks.
If you're into shark's mouths, then Ethell's
Shark's Teeth Nose Art (Motorbooks) is the nicest book I've come across. There were a couple of ooooold Arco/Aircam books on the same subject too. The Aircams usually had poor photo reproduction, but they're still worthwhile if you can find them cheap.
My absolute favorite, for sentimental reasons, is
Classy Chassy (Ian Logan & Henry Nield, A&W Visual Library). It's a small book, but a real dandy. I'm not entirely sure on this, but I think that it may have been one of the very first nose art books published... if not the first.
There's a few others which I have packed away... if I can dig them out I'll make a note of them later on.
Does anyone know what Gary Velasco's books are like? I must admit that I'm not a fan of the man, but as a fellow artist I admire his artwork and I've heard that his books are excellent. He certainly does overtime on epay collecting material for them... grrrrrrr... LOL
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