Vintage sci-fi cover art connoisseur Joachim Boaz has posted his favorite covers over at Science Fiction Ruminations. Go check it out.
This is fun, and I want to play too. Here are my five favorites from my paperback collection:
A great 1964 cover by Richard Powers for Ballard’s Burning World. This is classic Powers, and I’m a fan of post-apocalyptic imagery. The hot, dry colors capture the spirit of Ballard’s dystopic vision.
This cover is unattributed (ISFDB’s got nothin’) from the 1963 edition of Henry Kuttner’s classic Mutant. I like this cover because it beautifully expresses the mood of post-Golden Age, pre-New Wave sci-fi of the late 40’s and 50’s. Kuttner (and his partner in life and work C.L. Moore) were in the lead of post-Golden Age SF, even though they published frequently in Campbell’s Astounding.
1972 cover by Paul Lehr. This volume has Harlan Ellison’s classic story “A Boy and His Dog.” I love the cover because it features aliens and vast spaces.
Richard Powers, 1961, his third cover for this classic Wyndham novel.
Did I mention I like post-apocalyptic settings? Ralph Brillhart, 1963. It’s a great cover because this is exactly what I imagine an iced-in NY would look like in 1963, and I love early 60’s style.
The Finch and Pea 
Sorry for the late comment — but, these are wonderful. All of Lehr’s covers featuring elevated cityscapes (perhaps?) are amazing — there are at least 15 similar ones. Nice collection 🙂
Lehr’s cityscapes are great. I need to make a list, and use that as an excuse to buy more books.