SteyrAUG
10-06-14, 20:54
Among the many, many things (really too much) I collect is vintage men's magazines. Besides the obvious "cheesecake" factor it is really interesting to get a glimpse of 1950s / 60s society, or at least the one promoted by a magazine aimed at men. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of start ups that never made it. This is one reason the first issue of Playboy, the Monroe issue, didn't have a date on it, it simply said 1st Issue and nobody was sure there would be another.
Well in my searches I came across this one.
http://oi62.tinypic.com/2uixenl.jpg
December 1956 makes it a pretty early men's magazine and I don't know when it started. Seems in 1969 the title was purchased by another publisher and it soon became a homosexual themed adult magazine (big surprise).
Not sure if the hetero version of "Gay Blade" was published until 1969 or not, but clearly there was a time when "gay" didn't automatically equate with homosexuality. But I still can't see how anyone thought that was a great title. Of course with stories like Havana's "Superman" (made famous in Godfather II) one could argue they were starting to become a homosexual publication already.
Well in my searches I came across this one.
http://oi62.tinypic.com/2uixenl.jpg
December 1956 makes it a pretty early men's magazine and I don't know when it started. Seems in 1969 the title was purchased by another publisher and it soon became a homosexual themed adult magazine (big surprise).
Not sure if the hetero version of "Gay Blade" was published until 1969 or not, but clearly there was a time when "gay" didn't automatically equate with homosexuality. But I still can't see how anyone thought that was a great title. Of course with stories like Havana's "Superman" (made famous in Godfather II) one could argue they were starting to become a homosexual publication already.