Jim Linderman blog about surface, wear, form and authenticity in self-taught art, outsider art, antique american folk art, antiques and photography.
Farming on the MOON by Anonymous Who Painted the Future for Topps? Space Art 1958
Farming on the Moon? Earthshine love! All From Target Moon, and I can't find out who painted them. A hot debate rages in the nerd community about whether the set of Topps trading cards known as Target Moon were produced in 1958 or 1967, with salmon backs or with blue backs, the wrappers they came in, whether gum was included, how often they were reissued, what countries they were distributed in, blah blah. I say "nerd" with no rancor, trading card collectors...but you KNOW the only one worth having is Honus Wagner, and he never went to the moon.
But no one identifies the artist!
I came across one Chesley Bonstell, who appeared promising…but I think he paints better.
I mean, come on. They even know the name of the space dog.
The set is fascinatingly fascinating…and while one might think them goofy, consider they were done at least ten years before we landed on the moon. Whoever did them got things pretty close, especially as I don't think NASA was sharing much with the Ruskies back then.
There have even been auctions of the original artwork with no illustrator identified.
Check out these earthbound goons racing to recover the rocket! HAW!
One of the great mysteries of space! If anyone knows out there in space art land, feel free to write in.
BOOKS AND EBOOKS BY THE AUTHOR AVAILABLE HERE
UPDATE: Suggestions from a kindly expert, as follows: Definitely not Bonestell... I think he was too high profile (and priced accordingly) for the cheapskates at Topps. There are at least two or three artists involved... the "Martian Dust Storm" looks like it COULD be Norm Saunders. The rest look familiar, but nothing I can place.
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The cards are not by Bonestell but many illustrations are shamelessly copied from Bonestell’s The Conquest of Space. Also liberal use of R.A. Smith’s illustrations for The Exploration of the Moon. I’m surprised no one took issue since some of the illustrations were lifted wholesale out of these books without any attempt to slightly change them.
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