GEORGE ZIEL CHECKLIST

DELL FIRST EDITION

Ziel 92 NIGHT BOAT TO PARIS – Jessup, 1956. Copyright page credit: “Cover painting by George Ziel”.

DELL

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1303 A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS – Ambler, 1964. Back cover credit: “illustration by G. Ziel”
4264 JOURNEY INTO FEAR – Ambler, 1964.

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4903 THE LODGER – Lowndes, 1964. Back cover credit: “illustration by G. Ziel”

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 Grant Thiessen at BookIT Enterprises Inc. sent us this credited Ziel from the Dell Great Mystery Library. This is Dell 4572, KISS KISS by Roald Dahl, from 1965.

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8611  10th ANNUAL EDITION: THE YEAR’S BEST S-F – Merril, ed., 1966 Cover art from the 1965 Delacorte Press hardcover.

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2241  11th ANNUAL EDITION: THE YEAR’S BEST S-F – Merril, ed., 1967
6381 A NEW LEAF – Ritchie, 1971.

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8048 THE SMILING MEDUSA – Muir, 1971.

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Dell 9788 – THE YELLOW GOLD OF TIRYNS by Helena Osborne, 1971. Thank you Ruben at paperbackart.com.

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BY MARY ROBERTS RINEHART (1970-1976) 0795 THE BREAKING POINT – 1970. In the 1960s, the Dell reprints of the classic Mary Roberts Rinehart mysteries are credited to Hector Garrido and Victor Kalin. But the 1970s editions are all uncredited. I spoke to Hector Garrido and to Victor Kalin’s daughter, and we all agree the 70s covers are the work of a third artist. George Ziel was that artist.

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0795 THE BREAKING POINT, 1975. When the price of their paperbacks went up, Dell reissued some of their Rinehart series with new uncredited covers. Many of them have little touches we’ve come to identify as Ziel’s, like the partial faces beside the woman on this cover, the black cat with the crescent moon on THE CONFESSION & SIGHT UNSEEN (below), and the dark group of men in hats and overcoats on THE SWIMMING POOL (below).

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3127 THE GREAT MISTAKE, 1970.

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3127 THE GREAT MISTAKE, 1976.
0077 ALIBI FOR ISABEL, 1971.

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0212 THE ALBUM, 1971.

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0212 THE ALBUM, 1976.   Compare with TOWER ABBEY, Crest 2-4044-1, above.

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2735 THE FRIGHTENED WIFE, 1971.
3460 HAUNTED LADY, 1971.

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8248 THE STATE VS. ELINOR NORTON, 1971.

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8248 THE STATE VS. ELINOR NORTON, 1974.

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8316 THIS STRANGE ADVENTURE, 1971.
8355 THE STREET OF SEVEN STARS, 1971.

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9565 THE WINDOW AT THE WHITE CAT, 1971.

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9790 THE YELLOW ROOM, 1971.

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1278 THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE, 1972.
1654 DANGEROUS DAYS, 1972. 4
5035 LOST ECSTASY, 1972.

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7308 THE RED LAMP, 1972.

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9370 THE WALL, 1973. 
8428 THE SWIMMING POOL, 1974. The 1962 and 1966 editions of Dell 8428, THE SWIMMING POOL, have cover paintings by Victor Kalin. The 1970 edition of THE SWIMMING POOL is the work of Hector Garrido. This 1974 reprint has a new cover. We have seen those faceless men in fedoras and coats before.

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0044   THE AFTER HOUSE, 1975.

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1094 THE CASE OF JENNIE BRICE, 1975.

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1452 THE CONFESSION & SIGHT UNSEEN, 1975. The Ziel cat. Compare with ANITA (Avon 02295) above.
2380 EPISODE OF THE WANDERING KNIFE, 1975. 

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0465 THE BAT, 1976.  The last of Ziel’s 26 Rineharts.

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6231 MYSTERY OF THE WITCH WHO WOULDN’T – Platt, 1973.

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 Dell 8504 – THE STARS WILL JUDGE by Irving A. Greenfield, 1974. Several different collectors have suggested this must be a Ziel.

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04971 MARA – Morris, 1978. “A James A. Bryans Book”.
LOVE'S GENTLE AGONY
by Aaron Fletcher, Dell / Lorelei 04972, 1978.

I was looking at Aaron Fletcher covers for my
2015 Peter McCurtin catalog this fall when I noticed this cover art for the first time. I think this is probably a Ziel cover.

12645 THE FAR SIDE OF DESTINY – Mullen, 1979.

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10178 ALL WE KNOW OF HEAVEN – Mullen, 1980.

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DAWN WIND – Christina Savage, Dell 11792, 1980. Front and back covers shown. Dell also published a 1980 hardcover book club edition with same cover art, shown here below the paperback.

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15707 MISTRESS OF WYNDS – Haviland, 1981.


94520   THE KIDNAPPING OF CHRISTINA LATTIMORE – Nixon, 1980.

With her white Oxford shirt, rolled-up blue jeans and white sneakers, Christina is a match for the girls on his next Dell cover, THE SÉANCE. 

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97937  THE SÉANCE – Nixon, 1981

When the cover art was auctioned in 2008, George Ziel was identified as the artist.

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Dell 19217 – UNFINISHED PORTRAIT by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, March 1982.

At the end of his life, in one of his last assignments, George Ziel painted an extraordinarily beautiful set of uniform editions for the Mary Westmacott books by Agatha Christie. Dell issued the books one every two months over the year Ziel died, like a legacy from a departed friend. His  UNFINISHED PORTRAIT evokes the work of great artists such as Maxfield Parrish and Hippolyte Flandrin.

Dell 11674 – A DAUGHTER'S A DAUGHTER by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, May 1982.

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Dell 17503 – THE ROSE AND THE YEW TREE by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, July 1982.

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Dell 12871 - GIANT'S BREAD by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, September 1982.

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Dell 10011 – ABSENT IN THE SPRING by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, November 1982. All of the Agatha Christie covers by George Ziel are remarkable, but ABSENT IN THE SPRING is something sublime. The pensive brunette is striking; the two scenes behind her, a sunset and a moonrise, are both quietly evocative. The flowers at the bottom of the painting pop as they repeat color choices used above.

George Ziel died before painting the sixth and final book in the set, THE BURDEN, not published until May 1983. It is the work of a different artist.

Lynn Munroe Books