Quote of the month

“Paperback cover art reached great popularity by the 1950s. It has its origins in 1930s Pulp art. Paperback books were sold as much for the art on the cover as for the story or author. When sales slowed paperbacks would be re-released with new covers. By the 1980s most paperback art had been replaced by covers with BIG LETTERING.” 
-- Paperback page, from : Illustrations-Art-Antiques

[editor’s note : this is the most succinct – 5 sentences – history of vintage paperback cover art that I’ve read]