JVB 100

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Listen: This post has come unstuck in time. Poo-tee-weet.

Since February 7, 1921… seems like it’s been a century.

From the first, at the last, who would have imagined?

  • Figure study, John V. Baltandonis, 1991
  • Figure study, John V. Baltandonis, 1980s
  • Figure study, John V. Baltadonis

From the beginning, would he have imagined?

  • Imaginative Fiction, v1n1, October 1935. Art by John V. Baltadonis
  • Fantasy Fiction Telegram, v1n2, November 1936. Art by John V. Baltadonis

First, he was a fan.

PSFS News, v2n1, January 1939. Click for larger image.

We see glimpses, perhaps a trajectory.

Art by John V. Baltadonis, 1937
A page from John V. Baltadonis’ high school notebook, 1937

As a fan, an editor and evolving artist.

  • Art by John V. Baltadonis, c1937
  • Fantasy Herald, v1n4, Winter 1940
    Art by John V. Baltadonis
  • The Science Fiction Collector, v4n3, August 1938
  • Art by John V. Baltadonis, 1939
  • Oil on canvas by John V. Baltadonis, c1939

After the war… a changed man. Art as a career.
By then, we might have guessed.

Protest meeting. Art by John V. Baltadonis, 1947
Still life by John V. Baltadonis, 1946
  • Illustration for “The Solitary Hunters”
  • Illustration for “The Abyss”
  • Jacket and interior illustrations by John V. Baltadonis, 1947

A man of faith.

John V. Baltadonis, c1946

A First Fan.

  • John V. Baltadonis, c1938
  • John V. Baltadonis, Oswald Train, Milton A. Rothman at PhilCon, 1983
    Photo by and copyright (c) Andrew I Porter

And ever a fan. Happy 100th, JVB!

Deep thanks to Steve Baltadonis for much of the material herein.