GEORGE ZIEL CHECKLIST

AVON

Avon 604 – THE CASE OF THE BURNING BRIDE by Alan Hynd, 1954 Added by both Chris Eckhoff and Ruben at paperbackart.com.
 That double recommendation has convinced me this is an early Ziel.
avon
619 THE SAINT SEES IT THROUGH – Charteris, 1954.
avon

Avon 660 – WAKE UP TO MURDER by Day Keene, 1955. From Ruben.

 

 

 

 

Avon 677 is credited to Ziel on several websites. It is not Ziel. The cover artist is Ray Johnson. 

avon
685 ALIBI BABY – Sterling, 1955
avon
avon 696 MURDER SOMEWHERE IN THIS CITY – Procter, 1956.
760 LOVE OF 7 DOLLS – Gallico, 1956. avon
avon Avon G-1026 – YOUR DAUGHTER IRIS by Jerome Weidman, 1956. From Chris Eckhoff. I suspect this is probably Ziel.
T-133 POLIKUSHKA and TWO HUSSARS – Tolstoy, 1956. avon
avon

Avon T-140 – TEMPTATION IN PARIS by Balzac, 1956. From Chris Eckhoff.

 

avon
Avon T-151 – HANNIBAL by Mary Dolan, 1956. From Ruben at paperbackart.com. Avon
T-154 26 MEN AND A GIRL – Gorky, 1957.
Scan courtesy of bookscans.com
26 men
26 men
T-166 – JOSEPHINE THE GREAT LOVER by N.P. Nezelof, 1957.
avon T-194 THE WILD ONE – Golightly, 1957.
avon T-200 DIARY OF A 16–YEAR–OLD FRENCH GIRL – Colette, 1957.
2 T-203 LES GIRLS – Tomkinson, 1957 -cover and interiors. There are 12 line drawings by Ziel throughout the book. Two of them are shown here on the title page.
2
1 834 CONCERNING THE SAINT – Charteris, 1958.
2 T-216   CASE OF THE RED BOX – Stout, 1958.
2
Avon T-258 –
G STRING MURDERS by Gypsy Rose Lee, 1958. Thanks to Chris Eckhoff.
The standing woman's face does not remind me of Ziel, but her outfit matches each of Ziel's choices for LES GIRLS, an Avon that has his name on it.
G STRING MURDERS – frontis, re-used from page 34 of LES GIRLS, Avon T-203.
2
T-301 CLAUDINE – Colette, 1959.
3
T-311 ANYTHING FOR KICKS – Cooper, 1959. 4
Avon T323 -PNIN – Vladimir Nabokov, 1957. Thanks once again to Ruben at paperbackart.com.
http://bookscans.com/Publishers/avon/images%20G-T/avonT323.jpg
5 T-328 THE REAL COOL KILLERS – Chester Himes, 1959. Cover art reused on Digit R372.
6 T-357 THE CRAZY KILL – Himes, 1959.
T364 YOUNG AWAKENING – Fontaine, 1959. 7
T-375 I, BARBARIAN – Scotland, 1959. 8
9 G1037 THEY HANGED MY SAINTLY BILLY – Graves, 1959.
0 T-384 THE BIG GOLD DREAM – Himes, 1960.
T434 ALL SHOT UP – Himes, 1960. 9
“POLLY PARIS- Avon, 1972” In 2010 this art by George Ziel was auctioned as “POLLY PARIS, Avon, 1972”.  There is a 1972 Avon called POLLY PARIS, but this painting does not match the cover art used on the book, which is by a different artist. So if you find this cover art on a different paperback, please let me know. 8  
7 0-380-01682-6 AN HOUR IS FOREVER – Blackledge, 1977.
6 31518 THE MANDRAKE SCREAM – March, 1977.
30478 SEAL-WOMAN – Lockley, 1977. Some Ziel collectors believe this is Ziel. Please let me know if you know otherwise. This is probably Ziel, but so far all attempts to verify that have been unsuccessful. The artist here is paying homage to a famous painting called THE MERMAID by Howard Pyle. 5
Avon 37143 – MONTY – Robert LaGuardia, 1978. Thanks to Carol Smaldino.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTM4OVg4Mzk=/z/mU0AAOxyoVZTHBWI/$_57.JPG
39123 TARA’S SONG – Johnson, 1978 4

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When I showed the cover of Avon 35733, GHOST FOX by James Houston, in the 2011 Ziel catalog all I had was a front cover scan. Since then I have seen the actual book, which features this magnificent wraparound cover painting I've attributed to George Ziel. I believe this is Ziel because of similarities to two contemporary Avons that we are sure were painted by George Ziel: THE WAY OF PASSION and CROWN OF PASSION.

3 45203 KEEPER OF THE CHILDREN – Hallahan, 1979.
40063 THE ENCHANTED LAND – Deveraux, 1978.
At this point Ziel had been painting commercially for over 20 years, and his style evolved as his editors called for different kinds of cover paintings. With its evocative use of muted colors and the warmth created by this family grouping (everyone has a hold on this barefoot fertile goddess/earth mother) THE ENCHANTED LAND is one of Ziel’s crowning achievements.
3$
75911 THE BLACK LYON – Deveraux, 1980.  George Ziel created memorable covers for Jude Deveraux’s first books. They were a heady combination of author and artist. Sadly for Ziel collectors, Deveraux changed publishers to Pocket Books a few years later, where other cover artists were then used.  On his final romance paintings for Avon, Ziel evokes strong passions simply by having his lovers close their eyes.  87
76414  CROWN OF PASSION – Carew, 1980
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Avon 56523 – TORN COVENANTS by Lois Swann, 1981. Thanks to Karla from Goodreads.
5
78287 THE WAY OF PASSION – Lee, 1981. When the original art for this book was auctioned in 2009, the artist was identified as George Ziel. 5
5

Avon 77065 – THE TOUCH OF FIRE by Nella Benson, March 1982. Attributed to George Ziel.

Published a few days after George Ziel died, this must have been one of his last covers. We know that Ziel painted a 1981 Avon called THE WAY OF PASSION. I believe this cover art, with a similar feel, to be the work of the same artist.

80192 CASA GRANDE – Devaraux, 1982. 56

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