Silk Torpedo

This Pretty Things album cover design is one of a collection of archival inkjet prints that we released in 2014, celebrating previously unpublished album cover art from the Hipgnosis archives. When The Pretty Things announced the title of their album Silk Torpedo, Hipgnosis, who had been commissioned for the cover art, immediately thought of Alberto Vargas, a well-known calendar girl painter much appreciated by the boys fighting abroad in WW2. His paintings were often copied by pilots decorating the fuselage of their jets, for luck, and the Hipgnosis studio paid their own homage with this fantastic sleeve design. Aubrey Powell told Hypergallery "We hired a glamour girl, had a torpedo made out of polystyrene by scenic artist Nick Pemberton, and found an old Motor Torpedo Boat moored near Norwich and used by the Sea Scouts." It is such a fun image, and a beautifully delicate print. Anyone purchasing 5 or more prints from the set will receive their prints in a beautiful archival portfolio, screenprinted exclusively with a Hipgnosis logo designed by Aubrey Powell.

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