Prior to the emergence and popularity of image libraries and stock photo agencies, The Fairburn System of Visual References was considered the holy grail of visual reference material for artists of the day. Produced in 3 volume sets of human figures, faces and heads, figures and hands, they were an indispensible resource for the art director and commercial artist who relied on the photo references to hand render people—usually with Magic Markers—for conceptual storyboards and ad campaigns. Just like rubber cement and presstype, the Fairburn System was considered an essential tool for "pitching" clients throughout the 1970s and 80s, and most every...
