Original Drawing for the Sax Rohmer Novel The Bat Flies Low, Published in Famous Fantastic Mysteries (October 1952)

The original drawing, captioned "He knew, but too late, what had happened . . . ." in Famous Fantastic Mysteries (October 1952). Stevens (1884?1960) took up illustrating pulp magazines during the Second World War, when he was a couple of decades older than most beginning artists. He retired in the 1950s, after just over a decade working as a pulp illustrator. This image shows his mastery of two difficult techniques: foreshortened perspective and ghostly images. In this drawing to illustrate the reprint of a 1930s Sax Rohmer novel, the main figure's hand and pipe loom large, close to the viewer. Across the center of the image, a ghostly bat flies in from the left. Stevens (who is usually credited as "Lawrence", using just his first name) accomplishes this effect by changing the density and direction of his pen strokes. Stevens's work is scarce on the market, perhaps because he almost never signed his drawings. This one was anonymous until Dave Smith of Fantasy Illustrated suggested Stevens could be the artist which enabled your cataloger to find the magazine where this drawing was published. 5-3/8 by 7-1/8 inches (drawing) on a larger board. Ink on board. A fine drawing on art board. Some cryptic pencil notations on the verso, along with old tape used to affix it to a mat (not affecting the front of the board). No mat burn, however, is visible under the mat.…