Jungle Tales of Tarzan Art Print
Illustrator J. Allen St. John, invited collector Darrell C. Richardson into his studio in the summer of 1949. Among other paintings, they discussed the cover painting for Jungle Tales of Tarzan. St. John told him the painting was, “…the biggest I ever did… it was nearly six feet tall. McClurg wanted it that way because they used it as part of a special display which they sent on a tour to book stores in major cities.” The painting must have been done on some kind of hardboard, or plywood, that could hold up to a month’s transportation and display. It disappeared after the tour, perhaps taken home by some excited book store owner.
The cover depicts one of the several fever dreams that a young Tarzan encounters after eating tainted elephant meat, as related in the tale “The Nightmare.” During a night of gastric distress, Tarzan dreams that a giant bird grabs him in its talons and flies higher and higher over the jungle until the Ape Man has to use his knife to make it drop him. After a few more nightmares and a fierce battle with a real Bolgani (gorilla), not a dream, Tarzan vows to never again eat the meat of Tantor, the elephant.
11 x 17 in. on 65lb Aurora Art Natural Matte stock — $50.00