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Tom Adams Uncovered
Tom Adams Uncovered: The Art of Agatha Christie and Beyond | John Curran, Tom Adams
4 posts
The story of one of the world s greatest cover artists told through his iconic 1960s and 1970s Agatha Christie paperback designs, which influenced a generation of readers and artists. Includes a variety of other art and illustration from his 50 year career. The Agatha Christie covers painted by Tom Adams constitutes probably the most famous body of paperback art ever produced by a single artist. Between A Murder Is Announced in 1962 and Miss Marple s Final Cases in 1979, Tom was commissioned by Fontana in the UK and Pocket Books in the USA to paint covers for almost every Agatha Christie book, most of them more than once, totalling around 150 different paintings over two decades. They have been reproduced in many languages all over the world, defining the style of paperback artwork throughout the sixties and seventies and influencing a generation of artists and designers ever since. Tom s unique interpretations of the themes and stories in the books, often hiding clues about the plots within his paintings, have left an indelible mark on those who read those editions, and they are now highly sought after by fans of both Agatha Christie and Tom Adams. And Agatha Christie is only half the story. Concurrent with this extraordinary achievement, Tom was also producing art for other publishers, including an iconic series of Raymond Chandler covers and some brilliant jackets for books by John Fowles (The Collector, The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman), Patrick White (The Vivisector), David Storey (Saville), Peter Straub (Ghost Story), and Kingsley Amis (his James Bond pastiche, Colonel Sun). Tom Adams Uncovered is a showcase of the artist s best work from a career spanning more than 50 years. In addition to his many cover paintings, it features examples of Tom s broader work, including award-winning advertising, portraits, album covers, poster prints, and his work on the films 2001, Flash Gordon and Lifeforce. With captions by Tom and a commentary by the Agatha Christie historian John Curran, and concluding with previously unpublished Agatha Christie paintings, this book is a treasure trove for both crime fans and art lovers, and a fitting celebration of one of the world s finest cover artists."
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
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vivastory
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I've posted this list before, but it's been a couple of years & this was my intro to Tom Adams wild & horrifying Agatha Christie covers:
https://lithub.com/40-of-the-creepiest-book-covers-of-all-time/

RaeLovesToRead I got as far as "The Vivisector" and then noped out ??? 2y
Leftcoastzen The 1980s covers ! It was a golden age of creepy weirdness . Some of the weirdest Christies too . That NYRB collection looks like Charles Burns 2y
vivastory @RaeLovesToRead That one's pretty gruesome. I have a hard time with body horror involving eyes 2y
See All 19 Comments
vivastory @Leftcoastzen Good catch! I believe it's one of the few (maybe the only?) cover that's an original commissioned work. The 1980s had so many wild covers. Tons of them here too 2y
RaeLovesToRead @vivastory Any kind of body horror *shudder* It's why I haven't read Black Holes or anything by Junji Ito despite them being reportedly awesome 2y
vivastory @RaeLovesToRead I love Junji Ito, but yeah his work can be immensely disturbing... 2y
rretzler I have never seen those Christie covers, but have seen many others. The one from Stephen King‘s Night Shift used to make my palms itchy, which is how it all started… 2y
vivastory @rretzler Night Shift is one of my fave King books. Out of Print has several of his t-shirts. I really hope at some point they do the one for Night Shift. That one has always fascinated/creeped me out 2y
rretzler @vivastory one of my favorite Kings too 2y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick As a fan of the bodily harm horror that my guy dubs "torture porn", The Vivisector was my favorite but all of these are amazing! 2y
LeahBergen Oh, Cat‘s Eye is bad! 🤣🤣🤣 I‘ve always loved that cover of Christie‘s By the Pricking of My Thumbs 2y
rabbitprincess @RaeLovesToRead OMG I noped out at exactly the same place! I am terrified of sharp objects near eyeballs 😰 2y
Reggie Is it bad when I went- Oh this is my new scary favorite like 10 times in here? Lol thanks for this list. 2y
vivastory @LeahBergen The Christie covers are wonderful. Yeah, Cat's Eye definitely left me scratching my head 🤣 2y
vivastory @Reggie There are so many great ones on here! The Roald Dahl covers are wild. 2y
LeahBergen Do you have Paperbacks From Hell? That‘s such a great one to page through. 2y
vivastory @LeahBergen I do! I love looking through it. I *may* have a Paperbacks From Hell enamel pin, too 😃 2y
LeahBergen 🤣🤣 2y
RaeLovesToRead @rabbitprincess It's a book I wouldn't want on my coffee table, for sure 😂 2y
66 likes19 comments
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vivastory
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Tom Adams acid trip cover for Christie's Halloween Party

LeahBergen That‘s fantastic! 5y
vivastory @LeahBergen I think you'd really like this collection of Adams paintings 5y
60 likes2 comments
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vivastory
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The UK cover for another favorite "Crooked House."

Sace 🖤 5y
Cathythoughts Great cover 👍🏻 5y
65 likes2 comments
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vivastory
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I received the tagged book in the mail today. I bought it several days ago after reading a lithub article about creepy book covers & being struck by several Tom Adams covers for Agatha Christie books. This design, for one of my favorite Christie titles, is based off the actual railway guide when this book takes place.

sprainedbrain That is an incredible cover! 5y
vivastory @sprainedbrain Right?! His Christie covers are pretty remarkable! 5y
64 likes2 comments