Nova Venus (1938).
I doubt that illustrator Mahlon Blaine featured in any of the scurrilous porn books in Franz Kafka’s collection—he would have been too young, for a start—but his erotic work isn’t so far removed from some of the artists of The Amethyst and Opals. As usual with obscure talents of this period it’s good to know that someone has already done the required legwork in assembling biographical details. The always reliable Bud Plant has a page about Mahlon Blaine’s life and work, and there’s also a website, The Outlandish Art of Mahlon Blaine. Blaine’s quality control is variable but there’s a trace of the usual suspects in many of these drawings, notably Harry Clarke and, occasionally, the etiolated shade of the Divine Aubrey. (Beardsley, to you.) Similarities too to contemporaries such as Wallace Smith and John Austen, both of whom owe a debt to Clarke and Beardsley. The drawing above comes from this gallery which is among the better sets available.
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The illustrators archive
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Kafka’s porn unveiled
Some of his best work was in a rare publication of Salammbo.
There’s some of his Salammbo drawings in the last gallery linked above. Would be great to see all of those. The only fully-illustrated edition of Flaubert’s book I’ve seen is the weird science fiction comic adaptation by Philippe Druillet.
A new book on Blaine has just been release from one of the websites listed above!
The Outlandish Art of Mahlon Blaine
Hi Brian. That’s good news, thanks for the tip.
We have 9 original landscape paintings by Mahlon Blaine, and would like to contact anyone who collects his art. Thanks for any contact info you could provide.
My email is gumball@teleport.com
Roland Trenary’s new book Mahlon Blaine ~ One-Eyed Visionary has just been released. Well worth the price.
http://www.amazon.com/Mahlon-Blaine-~-One-Eyed-Visionary/dp/148120338X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360101296&sr=8-3&keywords=roland+trenary