Every now and again, Virgil Finlay would re-use parts of his earlier drawings, or use the same photographs of people for new drawings. Here some examples are listed.
'Venus' Central linear figure of transitory plane
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The sketch of 'Venus' on the left was made in 1935 and is page 7 of the sketchbook 'A Midsummer Night's Dream by Wm. Shakespeare:
Studies for the Illustrations by Virgil Finlay'. It is one of the few drawings in the sketchbook that is signed by Virgil Finlay, i.e.
"Virgil '35". The drawing was used (redrawn) to form part of the composition that was used as frontispiece of the book
'A Midsummer Night' Dream' published in 1935, displayed in the middle. This frontispiece is also published as part of
'Finlay's Lost Drawings' in 1975.
Earlier, in 1937, the Venus drawing was part of an illustration of the story 'Duar the Accursed' by Clifford M. Ball in Weird Tales, May 1937, depicted on the right.
Skeletons
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The posture and details of the skeletons are similar.
Man with hands in its pockets
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The posture and details of the man are the same.
Sphinx like Woman
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The postures of the women are the same.
Woman with backgrounds
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The posture and details of the woman are the same, including face, hair, wrinkles in dress, and the dress.
Virgil Finlay's 'Monsters'
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The monster in the Virgil Finlay drawing is modelled after a Norman Lindsay illustration.
Eagle in 'The Hobbit' and an 'Silence is Deadly'
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Virgil Finlay's illustration for J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' was never used. 'Silence is Deadly' illustrated the story by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. in If, October 1957.
Posture of woman in drawings
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Clearly, the posture of the woman in the drawings is very similar.
Posture of woman in drawings (bis)
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Clearly, the posture of the woman in the drawings is very similar.
Big cats
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Clearly, the posture of the cat in the drawings are very similar.
Man on Bed in 'The Complete Magnus Ridolph' and in 'The Undetected'
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The drawing in 'The Complete Magnus Ridolph' is the right-part of a two page spread (first publication date of that drawing not identified). The drawing 'The Undetected' illustrated the story by George O. Smith in Galaxy, December 1959.
Man in Discomfort
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Inspection of the full drawings shows similarities with respect to the position of the man that are beyond coincidence. When 'The Wrong World' is viewed upside down, the similarity is clear.
Man in Discomfort (bis)
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Lion (Leo)
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'Her Ways are Death' and an 'Astrological illustration'
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Clearly, the woman in both drawings are very similar. The drawing for the story 'Her Ways are Death' and appeared in Famous Fantastic Mysteries magazine, June 1952.
Bat
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The bats are identical in the drawings.
Kissing persons
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The kissing persons the same in both illustrations.
Even little details such as the left hand of the man under the left shoulder of the woman are identical. It is even more clear if the Vulcan's Dolls illustrations is rotated counter-clockwise.