Heritage’s Illustration Art Auction Brings Iconic Edgar Rice Burroughs Art, Rare Pulp Covers and Vintage Horror to the Fore

The Oct. 29 event features a defining Frank E. Schoonover Princess of Mars painting, fresh-to-market magazine covers and original art for books by Stephen King and R.L. Stine DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (Oct. 9, 2026) – An original painting that helped bring Edgar Rice Burroughs’ worlds to life leads Heritage Auctions’ October 29 Illustration Art Signature® Auction, as part of a powerful sale that presents a survey of illustration, with highlights that include original pulp and horror art, two Saturday Evening Post covers making their auction debuts, and works by Patrick Nagel, the Brothers Hildebrandt and Gil Elvgren. Frank Earle Schoonover’s Where is the Key, Sola?, painted for the first book edition of A Princess of Mars in 1917, is one of the earliest depictions of John Carter and Dejah Thoris, whose adventures created the foundation for much of the science fiction and fantasy of the 20th century. The painting comes from the collection of Robert “Bob” Barrett, the legendary collector and historian whose lifelong passion led him to assemble one of the most significant private collections of original artwork inspired by Burroughs’ storytelling. “Schoonover’s art for A Princess of Mars is a cornerstone of early science fiction and fantasy art,” says Sarahjane Blum, Heritage’s Director of Illustration Art. “It’s a groundbreaking artwork from one of the 20th century’s most talented illustrators. We are thrilled to offer it as part of this sale filled with examples of illustration that met the challenge of visually defining imagined worlds and the supernatural for readers.” Just in time for Halloween, Hugh Joseph Ward’s June 1940 cover for Red Star Mystery #1 debuts magician-detective Don Diavolo, “The Scarlet Wizard,” with an image of him pulling Satan from a top hat above the New York skyline. The sale is the auction debut of the work, which comes directly from the family of Clayton Rawson, the influential mystery writer who created both The Scarlet Wizard and The Great Merlini. Following the spooky season thread, Jeffrey Lindberg’s original cover for R.L. Stine’s Blind Date appeared on the 1986 book that marked the author’s turn toward horror for young readers, years before Goosebumps. From the Estate of Don Brautigam come his covers for the first edition of Stephen King’s 1985 story collection Skeleton Crew and the first hardcover edition of Dean Koontz’s Watchers, published in 1987. Brautigam’s art helped give both authors’ books their unmistakable visual identity during the 1980s. Two original Saturday Evening Post covers, which come fresh to market from the family of a former Curtis Publishing employee, are as reassuring as the sale’s horror art is unsettling. Kurt Ard’s The Muscle Builder and George Hughes’ Taking Mom to Lunch both depict instantly relatable moments in growing up. “Quiet scenes that evoke family and stability within an ever-changing world are the hallmarks of some of the best Saturday Evening Post cover artworks, and Hughes and Ard are both able to masterfully connect viewers to that feeling,” says Blum. The sale also features other exciting fresh-to-the-market works, including Gil Elvgren’s 1962 calendar illustration Rare Edition (Hold Everything) and Bewitching, created for a 1956 Brown & Bigelow calendar. The latter is one of the few fully nude paintings Elvgren made during his years with the company, lending particular interest to a work already distinguished by a personal inscription from the artist. Among the sale’s other major works is Patrick Nagel’s life-size Her Seductive Look, Cathy St. George, based on his January 1983 Playboy illustration of the magazine’s August 1982 Playmate. At nearly six feet tall, the acrylic painting gives the artist’s crisp lines, muted palette and cool vision of 1980s glamour the scale of a portrait. Nagel’s long association with Playboy brought that instantly recognizable style to a wide audience. Greg and Tim Hildebrandt’s Cirith Ungol, painted for the official 1977 J.R.R. Tolkien calendar, portrays Samwise Gamgee before the forbidding tower where Frodo is imprisoned. The brothers’ hugely popular Tolkien calendars helped define the look of Middle-earth for generations of readers. This dramatic image of Mordor has since appeared on book covers, calendars and other merchandise, including a 2023 Magic: The Gathering card. Images and information about all lots in the auction are available here. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich, Geneva, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2,000,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of more than 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter. Link to this release or view prior press releases. Hi-Res images available: Christina Rees, Director of Public Relations and Communications 214-409-1341; CRees@HA.com