A large portion of these illustrations were for novels by Irish author Lord Dunsany. Authors influenced by Dunsany include H.P Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, J.R.R. Tolkien among others. The full books can be read at archive.org at the following links..
The Last Book Of Wonder (1916)
The Book Of Wonder, A Chronicle Of Little Adventures At The Edge Of The World. (1912)
The Gods Of Pegana (1911)
A Dreamer's Tale (1910)
The Sword Of Welleran, And Other Stories (1908)
Time And The Gods (1906)
"The partnership of illustrator Sidney H. Sime and fantasy writer Lord Dunsany (also poet, dramatist, and grand chess master and pistol champion of Ireland) is without peer in the annals of fantasy illustration. It is almost inconceivable to imagine a Dunsany story - with its exquisite fusion of elements from Greek and Celtic myths (Dunsany was friendly with Yeats and the writers of the Celtic Twilight), Arabian Nights adventure, and the solemn harmonies of the Old Testament - without the drawings of Sidney H. Sime. Sime has been called the "greatest imaginative artist since William Blake," and aside from their fin-de-siecle elegance, and delicacy of line recalling Persian miniatures, Sime's drawings manifest that rare faculty of being able to give definitive, and often uncanny, form to the poet's merest suggestions." - quote source
Images found at Golden Age Comic Book Stories Pic-ectomy and other places I've lost track of.
If anyone has more scans from Bogey Beasts, please share them with me at evilenergy @ yahoo dot com Thanks!
12 comments:
This is the most impressive collection of Sime that I've found. Thank you so much! Sime was TRULY original, and one would be hard pressed to do better for old-school fantasy game inspiration.
These really are amazing it looks like these are prints correct? his technique with intaglio is impressive to say the least- all these different shading abilities he exhibits are truly awe inspiring!
Wow... just wow. Every time I see work by Sime I am just blown away. His pictures just make my jaw drop...
Brilliant! It's fascinating to see not only the influence ukiyo-e must have had on some of these illustrations, but also how Sime's style might in turn have inspired modern Japanese illustrators like Miyazaki. I love how you can return to Sime's again and again and always find something masterly and new. Thanks for the extensive spread!
Thank you so much for assembling this collection. I have been a fan of Sime since I have first seen pieces of his, and this post has been the most complete to date.
Sime's exotic imagination, striking use of shadows and light, and delicate detail, are one of a kind.
I've long been a fan of Sime but you've included several illos I'd never seen before. Thanx!
This is really wonderful. It seems unusual to me to find that elegant storybook æsthetic combined with such vitally exciting imaginative content.
This is my first encounter with Sime's work. This is exactly the sort of art that has inspired me since childhood. I knew of Rackham and others but not Sime. This stuff just blows my mind. Absolutely stunning and beautiful.
A true genius.
these scans are better then the book i have!
i love you sime!!
A couple of these images were in the the books of horror that I remember from my childhood ( I checked them out from the library as a young kid often several times each year.... even often renewed the borrowing of these wonderful books) .... I never knew who was the artist....
I find W0RMY from the old Dragon magazine somewhat reminiscent of this style too- although Trampier used his favourite marker pens in psychedelic colour.
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