Norman Rockwell: 332 Magazine Covers (Tiny Folio, 11)

Normal Rockwell was a fixture of American society at a time that I can now look back upon and see how far we are hanging over the cliff into oblivion. When I was a kid growing up in the 50’s there was actual good wholesome life on this planet! We could leave our homes and not even lock the doors. Drugs, unbridled sex, profound rudeness, super anger pumped egos and angst on the streets, in the stores, in the churches, on the sidewalk - dear God - in the cars … people rife with entitlement and the unholy trinity - me, myself and I - swarming every aspect and place in the world. On and on and on - unthinkable! The innocence and sweetness of that world was captured in an incredible way by this way beyond profoundly gifted artist. He was an artist! He was a man of unwordable magnitude he was one of the 20th Century’s greatest creators and figures! Here are his works for the Saturday Evening Post. The magazine that was in the waiting rooms and people’s living rooms and in their attics and basements and garages. And it didn’t share space with the sorry adventures of current or wannabe super stars. It was a chronicle of the life of peace and simplicity that will never be seen again.

Norman Rockwell was America's most famous illustrator of the twentieth century. He was best known for his cover paintings from the Saturday Evening Post depicting everyday life. This book which is a reprint of a 1979 publication illustrates all of his 322 Post covers as well as some earlier ones from other magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Country Gentleman, and Literary Digest. After a brief introduction of the artist's life , the paintings are presented in full heavy weight page color plates. The last fifty pages contain color thumbnails with short commentaries by the author. Some of the most iconic images in the book include "No Swimming", "The Tattooist", "Saying Grace", "Girl At a Mirror", "Breaking Home Ties", and "Triple Self Portrait". Other highlights include several Christmas covers, a series of work depicting the fictional character Rockwell created Willie Gillis, and presidential portraits of Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. Even though Rockwell's important series of Four Freedom paintings were illustrated in the Post, they are not included in this book because they were not original cover images. Although I found the reproductions beautifully photographed, I only wished that the commentaries were on the same page as the paintings. If you want a book which covers most of the artist's best work, I strongly urge you buy this book and make sure you do not order the tiny folio version. Although the oversized volume is pricey it is worth the money.

If your goal is to see Rockwell's (Magazine Cover) works, this book is highly recommended. However, since this is a tiny folio, expect to see images rather than any fine details like stroke marks.The book starts with a 14-15 page brief commentary/background text on Rockwell and his works. Keep in mind the font size respects the proportion of book, so it may be too small for some readers.The artworks are presented in chronological order with client and date info under each piece. Since my goal was to view his works rather than to take in written information, the uninterrupted presentation of artworks page after page works well. The author does include chapter like breaks with a title and description to give readers some context for the following works.If I had to give it a Con:This is not a lay flat book, so you do need to actively keep the book open with your hand or book clip/stand if you want to see the full spread.

The cover, binding and paper of this book is excellent. But the print quality is not good compared to today's standards. I think the reason is that the first edition of this book is from 1979, and they are still using the same color plates, even on this 2013 edition. As well, this old plates seem to be photos of the magazine covers from the 1916s to the 50s, themselves having poor color reproduction qualities due to the press technology of the time. They are not photos of the actual paintings (Which I think would make the images a lot better). Some of the photos seem blurred and resolution and color a bit poor, even with the later cover images from the 60'sThe collection of artwork is excellent though. It is the best compilation of Rockwell's work in book form.Shipping caused some dents on the corners. There was not enough protection material around the book to protect it, just some crumpled paper, which would not be enough given the weight of this volume.

I just bought this miniature collection of Norman Rockwell prints for the second time! I used to have it when my children were small, and wanted it again now I have grandchildren. The way I love to use it is to show one page to a child and ask them to make up a story about it, to get their creativity going. Since it fits in a purse, it's great to do this on long car or airplane rides. I also love looking at the prints myself, especially since I've been to the original museum and seen some of the paintings in person. Something about Norman Rockwell's style resonates with me and this miniature collection of prints is fun.