Earle Bergey painted this cover for the February 1952 number of Startling Stories, I believe illustrating Margaret St. Clair’s story “Vulcan’s Dolls.” St. Clair must have been riding high at this stage of Startling Stories, because the same story also go interior illustrations by Virgil Finlay. Example:
This issue is available to be read and downloaded at the Internet Archive.
As long as we’re doing some role reversals here…
A lady scientist (mad I hope!) graces the October 1943 cover of Fantastic Adventures. She was painted by Robert Gibson Jones (1889-1969). The story which I believe it is illustrating, Frank Patton’s “Jewels of the Toad,” has an interior illustration by Virgil Finaly, which is typically exquisite.
Women creating seems to have been a theme for this issue. Florence Magarian was called upon to do an illustration for Don Wilcox’s “World of Paper Dolls,” about a girl who makes people. (The image below is my composite across two pages).
Mrs. Magarian also illustrated William P. McGiven’s “Tink fights the Gremlins,” a story that has (apparently) painting fairies.
This issue is available for reading and download at the Internet Archive.
Be warned, however, that this issue contains a story titled “Mystery of the Creeping Underwear.” No joke.
A. Merritt’s Fantasy Magazine was a very short-lived venture in speculative fiction publishing — the ISFDB discloses only five issues published in 1949 and 1950, but it sure managed to publish some splendid art. This tube-girl cover painting on the October 1950 cover was done by the great Norman Saunders, and an interior illustration to Elinor Cowan Stone’s story “The Devil-Fish” has an illustration by Virgil Finlay.
This issue is available for reading and download at the Internet Archive.
A modern Pygmalion:
(It’s a big image, so downloading is recommended for the full effect.) The art is by the prolific sci-fi and fantasy artist Virgil Finaly. It’s from Dream World, August 1957.
Dream World had a pretty short life under the editorship of Paul Fairman, apparently running to only three issues. It managed to attract some significant talent. Here’s the cover, by Ed Valigursky:
A smaller but cleaner version of the cover can be found via the issue’s ISFDB entry:
The magazine seems to have attracted real writing talent, as well. The August issue contains stories by Robert Silverberg and Harlan Ellison. You can read or download it from the Internet Archive.
This illustration by Virgil Finlay is conceptually very erotic mad science. Reblogged from this 29 March 2015 post at Infernal Wonders.
This is Thrilling Wonder Stories for October 1950, cover by Earle Bergey. The ISFDB entry for this issue is here. I found this version of the cover at Pulp Covers. The title story “Shadow on the Sand” includes this Virgil Finlay illustration:
You can download and read the entire issue at the Internet Archive.
This is Thrilling Wonder Stories for June 1953, cover by Walter Popp. The ISFDB entry for this issue is here. I found this version of the cover at Pulp Covers. Here is some internal art by Virgil Finlay, illustrating Wallace West’s story “Captive Audience.”
You can download and read the entire issue at the Internet Archive.
This is Thrilling Wonder Stories for February 1947, cover by Earle Bergey. The ISFDB entry for this issue is here. I found this version of the cover at Pulp Covers. Browsing the issue as preserved at the Internet Archive has turned up some interesting cover art, for example this by Virgil Finlay illustrating Murray Leinster’s “The Manless Worlds.”
And this uncredited piece (perhaps I’m more in love with the concept than the illustration itself) illustrating John Russell Fearn’s “Sweet Mystery of Life.”
You can download and read the entire issue at the Internet Archive.
This is Thrilling Wonder Stories for October 1947, cover by Earle Bergey. The ISFDB entry for this issue is here.
The reference of my title snark is obscure. It’s this oddly-compelling 1974 Cajunsploitation movie, which the boys at the the Grindbin Podcast sent up back in March 2017.
I extracted this version of the cover from the issue as preserved at the Internet Archive. This issue also has at least two Virgil Finlay illustrations on inside pages, one illustrating Frederick Pohl’s “Donovan Had a Dream:”
And another illustrating Leslie Charteris’s “The Darker Drink:”
You can download and read the entire issue at the Internet Archive.
This is Thrilling Wonder Stories for October 1952, cover by Earle Bergey. The ISFDB entry for this issue is here. I extracted this version of the cover from the issue as preserved at the Internet Archive, along with this piece of interior art by Virgil Finlay, illustrating Wallace West’s novel The Bird of Time:
You can download and read the entire issue from the Internet Archive.