21 Hand Illustrated 1950s Vernacular Gay Chap Books -

1958. Softcover. Near Fine. Oblong 24mos. Measuring 5" x 8". Illustrated throughout with original ink and watercolor drawings. Each 8pp. Stiff paper wrappers with index cards used for pages and bound with staples or brads. Overall near fine with some wear at the corners and light reading creases to the front wrap along the spine. An elaborate and vibrant collection of 21 gay cartoon books that appear to have been illustrated by one person. Each features very graphic and explicit tales of boy meets boy - and sometimes another boy (and in a few cases a werewolf, or Elvis Presley, or Dick Tracy and ... well, you get the idea). Each is lovingly composed of seven or eight index cards that have been illustrated on the unlined side and bound into hand decorated stiff wraps, some with applied elements. Though undated, the fashions, furniture, and cultural references suggest the late 1950s with titles such as *Miss Elvis Presley*, *I Was a Teen-Age Werewolf*, and *Space Girl* starring Flash Gordon. A unique collection of handcrafted drawings revealing the unvarnished exploits (or at least the fantasies) of a sexually active gay man of the 1950s with more than a dose of figurative and literal tongue-in-cheek humor and pun filled titles, such as *Ima Hoor Presents: Lover, a Sexascope Production*. The optimistic portrayal of certain physical attributes of the characters certainly parallel or reflect the similarly endowed characters of Tom of Finland, or might possibly even predate them slightly. Due to the singular and clandestine nature of the books, this collection would be almost impossible to recreate today. Originally held for many years by an art dealer who never encountered anything like it, the collection has been in the possession of only one other private owner since. Housed in a specially made slipcase.