Cover: The Angel of the Revolution

This issue we continue with the new practice of finding covers amongst the British Library’s collection of illustrations from old books. The picture in question was included in a 1893 novel called The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror by the British writer, George Griffith. It tells of an war fought with flying machines, between the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance and the Franco-Slavonian League, and features bombing of civilian targets. This was written well before WWI, let alone WWII.

The pictures are of interest because they were drawn by the pioneering wargamer and military nerd, Fred T Jane, most famous for his book, Jane’s Fighting Ships, a comprehensive catalogue of the world’s navies. The title was, of course, subtly changed for Jane Dennis’s fanzine, Jane’s Fighting SMOFs. Jane wrote science fiction as well as illustrating it.

A larger version of the British Library image appears below.