Holland Really Got Around

I have been negligent in not mentioning before now Michael Stradford’s beautiful coffee-table book, Steve Holland: The World’s Greatest Illustration Art Model (‎St. Clair). Stradford has turned his boyhood fascination with the old Doc Savage paperback series—fronted so often by illustrations including actor-model Steve Holland—into a tribute volume that Paperback Warrior calls “absolutely a mandatory reference for anyone fascinated by 20th-century paperbacks, magazines and male-oriented advertisements. … More than 20 years after his death, Holland’s face is still selling publications. That is a testament to his phenomenal physique, likable face and ability to provide the perfect likeness for all of these amazing visuals. Stradford has honored Holland in such a beautiful way and I can’t thank him enough for his labors in creating it.”

Should you be unfamiliar with Holland’s once-ubiquitous presence on paperbacks and in magazines, click here to see examples.

Prior to the publication of his book, Stradford created a blog that showcases the wide range of artwork employing Holland’s image, plus some (nay, many!) of the reference photos of him used by artists over the years. That site continues to be updated here.