by Norman I. Platnick.
Enchantment Ink is pleased to introduce "Signed on the Dot: A Collector's Guide to Penrhyn Stanlaws." This brand new book, by Norman I. Platnick, attempts to gather together the known images by American illustrator Penrhyn Stanlaws. During the teens and twenties of the last century, Stanlaws was among the most famous illustrators in the nation; at one point, he was simultaneously the "house" cover artist for two major periodicals (Hearst's and Metropolitan magazines). He led a fascinating life, including stints constructing the Hotel des Artistes in New York and as a movie producer in Hollywood. The book's title refers to his characteristic signature, in which the capital "S" of Stanlaws sits on a circle of contrasting color. Sections of the book detail the known magazine covers, magazine illustrations, magazine ads, sheet music pieces, book illustrations, blotters, fans, posters, trade cards and postcards, as well as the many print and calendar images, and his newspaper pieces. The book includes over 550 color images on 107 8.5x11" velo-bound pages, with a detailed index and price guide.
Click here to download this guide, for free.
Hello Enchantment Ink visitor. On April 8th, 2020, the author of all these books, my father, Norman Platnick, died of complications due to a serious fall.
Words cannot describe the amount of pain my family is in right now. My father was a wonderful, humble, loving, passionate and intelligent man. He had 3 passions in life: my mother, spiders and collecting.
As a way of honoring my father's legacy in the illustrated artwork community, I will be turning as many books of his as possible into PDF files and distributing them online, for free.
If you have found these collector's guides useful, I ask that you make a donation to the Norman I. Platnick Memorial Fund, which will be setting up a scholarship in the field of arachnology, my father's career.
If you'd like to learn more about my father and his amazing life (such as skipping middle school and high school and going to college when he was 12), I'd like to lift up just a few pieces:
NY Times: Norman Platnick ObituaryConcord University Magazine Fall 2018: Friendly Neighbordhood Arachnologist page 20
NY Times: The Exciting Adventures of Spider Man
Daily News: NYC'S real-life spider man
NY Times: For Some, an Appliance; for Others, Art
The Wall Street Journal: Warming Up to Spiders