Mel Hunter

With a growing understanding of the fields of astronomy, astronautics, and aviation Hunter set out to teach himself book and magazine illustration.

Hunter's lonely robots were often depicted walking solo through the desolate landscapes of nuclear ruins or alien planets.

Hunter's love of air and space took him from California's desert runways to Florida's seacoast launchpads to illustrate every variety of jet-age aircraft and space-age rocket imaginable—from X-15 to Saturn V. One of Hunter's best-known books is "The Missilemen", a photo illustrated work published in 1960 by Doubleday.

Another Hunter book, "Strategic Air Command", received the Aviation Writers' Association highest honors in 1961.

"He was very technically accurate and was commissioned to complete 26 paintings of celestial objects for the Hayden Planetarium in New York City."

The following year, he was commissioned to create a series of more than 130 watercolors of "Birds of the Northeast" by Abercrombie & Fitch Galleries and Massachusetts Audubon Society.

By 1970, Hunter signed a contract with World Publishing Co. for a series of 13 ecological books for children, dealing with topics like the beginning of the earth, mankind, plants, birds, mammals and insects.