Dungeons & Dragons has gone through many iterations, and its cover artwork has always encapsulated the state of the hobby at any given time. But it was the various Player's Handbooks, being dedicated to the ultimate act of adventuring, that spoke to how the game saw itself and the players (and characters) in its charge. Without a doubt, these evolving covers documented big changes over time, especially the first three, which straddled years of evolutionary changes while broadcasting exactly what experience was offered...
OD&D MEN & MAGIC (1974). Arguably the first Player's Handbook, this sported a simple, line-copy illustration of a medieval-inspired fighting man. No action-packed heroics. No background save the card stock it was printed on. This was amateur production from an as-of-yet amateur industry, one suggestive of its quasi-historical influences, complete with a disposable fighter emblematic of its wargaming premise. Basically, a skirmish-type wargame where players identified with a revolving door of replaceable characters.
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AD&D PLAYER'S HANDBOOK (1978). The first handbook by name, this one began D&D's transformation towards something more professional. Trampier's hardcover was at once amateur and accomplished, with its dungeon setting leaving no doubt as to where the action was supposed to be. Its fighters were medieval authentic, its magic-user straight from the storybooks that inspired them. Dungeon expeditions, captained by enduring character types, marked the transition from traditional wargame to more story-centric adventures...
AD&D 2E PLAYER'S HANDBOOK (1989). The evolution from amateur press to professional property was finally complete, although this doubtless occurred in the mid 1980s with the mainstreaming of the D&D product. Jeff Easley, part of the next generation of gaming artists, rendered OD&D's lone fighter as a mounted hero, which might have suggested a growing slant towards individual characters, but probably not since the original OD&D boxed set took a similar approach. Mostly, the cover speaks to D&D's commercial status.
Of course, it's easy enough to retroactively assign meaning. The above is no exception, although D&D's transition from amateur to professional is obvious enough when comparing cover artwork alone. But OD&D's interchangeable hero and quasi-historical pretensions absolutely suggested a 1970s wargame as opposed to Second Edition's modern superhero style, with AD&D showcasing the hobby's golden balance. If anything, these first Player's Handbooks had one finger squarely on the pulse of a game that remains diagnostic...
