EXTRACTS: illustrators issue 3 © 2013 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

50 of illustrations that I wanted for each part, and whether they would be in colour or monochrome. Two weeks later, he came to my hotel in mid-town Manhattan and delivered the illustration for the first week’s installment, which was exactly what I wanted. It was the day of the Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Johnson election for the presidency. We had coffee, and spent quite a long time discussing the possible outcome of the election, and what the implications would be. Most of the Western World heaved a huge sigh of relief when Johnson was re-elected as president. Anita Virgil had an artistic talent of her own, and she had kindly given me a charming drawing of a huntsman that she had recently completed. So I flew back to London with two Virgil originals. The multi-talented Anita went on to become a universally recognized Haiku poet, and in 1973, she became President of the Haiku Society of America. Andy Virgil was born Andrew Virgil Calafatello in January 1925 in New York City to Sicilian immigrant parents. He was the middle child of three. His mother, Josephine, a highly skilled seamstress in the city’s garment district, was the one who encouraged his artistic expression from the time he was very young. After graduating, he went to work in a marble-sanding factory, and was then drafted into the army. He spent about a year in the artillery, serving in the USA, and was a crack shot. But a long-time arthritic condition of the spine, which had begun to plague him in his teens, led to a medical discharge. In his early twenties, he could be found setting up his easel at the ABOVE AND FACING PAGE: Early examples of Virgil’s work reveal a dynamic and inventive approach to layout. The influence of friend, colleague and mentor Joe De Mers, is also apparent. ABOVE: One of several studies that Virgil made of paintings by Rembrandt. Courtesy of Mitch Itkowitz and Brandi Budziak Graphic Collectibles