LENDING A HAND: 1920s Erotica

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While the production values of Xcitement might overstress the faux sophistication of the early 1960s, Greene was an impresario of the glamour industry in her own right, who along with Marks had created the massively successful ‘nude studies’ magazine Kamera in 1957, so she knew how to play to the camera and occupy the audience. And it’s with a natural adeptness for sinuous moves and peek-a-boo glances, as well as her straightforward charm, that she carries us along in a rare example of a striptease film living up to its title. With life this pleasant, it's no wonder that nobody was smiling in the creepy pictures taken in the Victorian era. Everybody looks so severe that it seems as if people in the 1800s just didn't have the time, or strength to have fun. But as these rare vintage photos prove, that wasn't always the case. The caption contest at RetroRaunch rivals the New Yorker's for wit; here's a favorite (NSFW). (Oh, and this one (NSFW).) Out of this collection, however, one genuine curio from the striptease era does stand out. Probably made for strip clubs and the 8mm home movie market, Harrison Marks’ Xcitement (1960) once again features his favourite model, Pamela Greene. From its very first shot of a slightly decrepit putti overlooking a divan adorned in fake leopard skin, Marks announces that this is going to be a strip show imbued with neoclassicism and culture. Some of the erotic literature and art in Enfer, published between the sixteenth to twentieth centuries, was created for sexual gratification, titillation and amorous fantasies. The descriptions and depictions of sexual escapades and episodes can be arousing, humorous and sensual, or display the darker aspects of human desire. Enfer is more than just erotica; many of the works in the collection offer intriguing social commentaries and criticisms, and the opportunity to delve into the fascinating lives and histories of the authors and artists themselves, as well as the social and cultural movements they represented. Don’t be afraid to venture beneath the book covers and read between the lines; you never know what you will find in Enfer!

However, having a woman artist creating a male nude has been something of a rarity, especially depicting any hint of genitalia. Student works by women on Art UK through the twentieth century show that even when they painted from life, the male models were often modestly covered. On the subject of study, Enfer provides us with many opportunities to explore art and social history in a wide variety of imaginative works. While some of the books simply offer flights of fancy, erotic fantasies to titillate and arouse, many of the works in Enfer offer social commentary and criticism. After exploring the fantastic imagery in texts from the seventeenth to nineteenth century, I was intrigued to continue my search and explore how imagery developed in the late nineteenth and twentieth century, when authors and artists were often at the forefront of the social and cultural movements of their time. If you enjoyed reading about the images in nineteenth and early twentieth texts in L’Enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, you may enjoy Phil’s discussion of images in earlier works from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. You may also be interested in reading about another module in Gale’s Archives of Sexuality and Gender series, Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century, in Sex! … and Sexuality, and Gender which discusses the Private Case from the British Library, materials from the Alfred C. Kinsey Institute for Sex Research and the New York Academy of Medicine.

Argentine-Italian surrealist painter Leonor Fini was invited to illustrate La Galère and created six etchings depicting explicit sexual activities between men. Finding homosexual erotica can be challenging given past social attitudes toward homosexuality. In 1956, Genet was given a fine and a suspended prison sentence for publishing the illustrated editions of La Galère and Querelle de Brest, both of which were considered “in contempt of morality”. Finding a work that artistically depicts gay intimacy, especially illustrated by a female artist, is something of a rarity.

At the core of everything we do is our reproductive drive. It's primitive. It makes men want to be powerful to get women and women want to be beautiful so they can get men. That's why we want to take lots of pictures." Right: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GEILBK698847083/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=eafc0675&pg=31 Delve into the fascinating lives and histories of the authors and artists in Enfer The censors’ no nudity rule persisted in the coming decades, and curiosities such as Action in Slow Motion (1943), which feature nudes in action (albeit shot at a distance), would not have not been seen in cinemas. By the beginning of the 1960s, however, one man was determined to find a way to put naked bodies on the British screen. In the summer of 1960 the pin-up photographer Harrison Marks told the head censor at the BBFC: “I’m going to be waving the banner for British nudists.” The censor was not impressed. But he knew that the board would have to pass Marks’ intended film, Naked as Nature Intended (1960), provided “the film’s setting is recognisable as a nudist camp or nature reserve”. Vintage porn has an undeniable appeal. Every photograph tells a story, and you can tell that some thought went into setting up each shot. Why does that woman have a Howdy Doody doll in her hand? How did that man get his leg up over the steering wheel? Did those newlyweds take these photos themselves, or were they on a set? Paris-Éros is a work of erotic courtesan fantasies written by Auguste Dumont under the pen name Martial d’Estoc. It is set in Paris and offers a fictional, yet historically accurate, view of the society and culture of the city in the early twentieth century. The stories involve what one would expect in an erotic novel, such as prostitution, lesbian sex (likely driven by male fantasy), fashionable courtesans, passionate orgies and erotomania. While the book may or may not stand on its own literary merits, the included illustrations are beautifully rendered.

In the twentieth century, erotic art became more adventurous, not only in what it depicted, but in the art forms used. A variety of twentieth-century art and design movements, from abstract expressionism to art deco to pop art to surrealism, are illustrated in the books of Enfer. Additionally, erotic literature changed with the times. Some of the works still offered social commentary and criticism, but there were just as many texts dealing with love, sexual desires, fetishes, and outright pornography. As one would hope from an artist with integrity, he refused to censor or change his vision and so the work was placed above the entrance of the library where it remains today. Perhaps some kind of brief would have been useful... Surely the Preston nude can't be the only one that caused some controversy at the time... Well indeed not. Artistic nudes have had a complicated history, tied up with the male gaze, the public perception of what was 'decent' at different times in history, religion, and plenty of other factors.

As you can see, the panel depicts a mother and child being protected from a fanged serpent by a nude, bearded, knife-wielding father. However, the trustees of the School did not appreciate the display of male genitalia and would not allow it to be placed above the School's entrance unless Kennington added a loincloth. Georges Hugnet (11 July 1906 – 26 June 1974) was a French graphic artist. He was also active as a poet, writer, art historian, bookbinding designer, critic and film director. According to one source, Hugnet’s early rebelliousness eventually developed into a combative, stubborn nature causing quarrels with publishers, other artists, poets, friends, and family throughout his life. In the 1940s, Hugnet was part of the French Resistance in German-occupied France. In 1943, Hugnet collaborated with Spanish surrealist Óscar Domínguez to create Le feu au cul, a term generally used with someone who is on the lookout for sexual liaison opportunities. The book of art and poetry was published secretly during the wartime occupation. Hugnet’s erotic poetry was well paired with Dominguez’s overtly sexual artwork, which, “ demonstrated an unceasing preoccupation with the subconscious, with automatism and with unfettered spontaneity.”

The Victorians From France

Throughout the 1920s and 30s so-called ‘propaganda films’ about birth control or the dangers from sexually transmitted diseases, such as The Uncharted Sea (1928) and The Irresponsibles (1929) were refused film certificates by the BBFC. This is surprising since neither of these two films depicts how such diseases are actually caught, only that they seem to occur outside “marital relationships”. Domínguez was a Spanish artist best known for his loosely rendered Surrealist paintings. Influenced by avant-garde European painters such as René Magritte, Giorgio de Chirico, and Yves Tanguy, he employed bizarre subject matter to great effect. Domínguez, like Max Ernst, used a technique called decalcomania, a technique used by some surrealist artists which involves pressing paint between sheets of paper. Hugnet, Georges. Le feu au cul / [Georges Hugnet]; [illustrations d’Oscar Domínguez]. Illustrated by Oscar Dominguez, [Robert J. Godet], [1943]. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GKUCFJ839309656/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=be484433&pg=5 Hugnet, Georges. Le feu au cul / [Georges Hugnet]; [illustrations d’Oscar Domínguez]. Illustrated by Oscar Dominguez, [Robert J. Godet], [1943]. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GKUCFJ839309656/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=be484433&pg=20 Illustration for plays There is no specific reaction recorded to this particular painting, but it set me wondering if this had been a common occurrence in galleries throughout the land. Please be aware that this blog post contains content that may be offensive to some readers; the decision to read the post is at your own discretion. Récits Piquants Chaudes Aventures, essentially “ Spicy Tales, Hot Adventures” is another flagellation novel, a topic that was popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The book features six stories, three long tales and three short stories, of passion, sexual frustration, and the art of flogging. This is a work written for the entertainment of the disciples of the lash, nothing more, nothing less. Récits Piquants Chaudes Aventures is interesting as a testimony to a sexual fetish that dominated erotic publishing for the better part of fifty years. Whether or not the book has any redeeming social value, or offers any kind of worthy social critique, is up to you to discover. It is mentioned here for its fascinating depictions of a bygone era. The illustrations in this book were done by Georges Töpfer, a prolific erotic artist whose work appeared in multiple books of the early twentieth century. Featuring fringe wraps, drop-waist dresses, and bob haircuts, the finely rendered drawings nicely portray the stylings and fashions of the 1920s. Nates, Gilbert. Récits piquants chaudes aventures (scènes de féminisme)… / Gilbert Natès; [ill. de G. Topfer]. Illustrated by G. Topfer, M. Legrand, 1920. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GGBJKC167197546/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=ce4dbccf&pg=173 Surrealism

The six short stories featured in Le Cinglant Argument feature characters whose sexual frustrations and desires find release in all sorts of flagellation. The sixteen illustrations featured in this book, illustrated by an anonymous artist, leave no doubt this is a flagellation novel; they offer a wonderful visual aspect to the stories. Aside from the erotic nature of the illustrations, it is interesting to see the fashions, furnishings, and stylings of the turn of the twentieth century brought to life. Le Cinglant argument / préface de Pierre Guénolé. Office central de librairie, 1900. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GEYFLB626093737/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=55793c24&pg=111 Surrealism was a cultural movement which developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I and was largely influenced by Dadaism. According to André Breton, surrealism utilised art and literature to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality”, or “surreality”. Surrealist artists and writers frequently employed free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious mind to create their works. Surrealism was a philosophical movement, but also a revolutionary movement most commonly associated with communism and anarchism. From the 1920’s onward, Paris was a centre of the surrealist movement, so it is no surprise to see a number of works in Enfer written and illustrated in surrealist style. Jean Genet, (born December 19, 1910, Paris – died April 15, 1986, Paris) spent his early life as a petty thief and a vagabond, yet later became a writer, playwright and human rights activist. Genet was also openly homosexual, and many of his works explicitly portrayed themes of homosexuality and criminality, reflective of his own life journey. In 1947, Genet published La Galère ( The Galley), a poetic work about a virile murderer who is transformed into a tragic “queen” in a fantasy involv­ing a galley ship transporting prisoners to apenal colony in Guyana. Le Cinglant Argument is one of the books in a sub-collection of Enfer known as Flagellation. Between the 1880s and the 1930s, an editorial subgenre flourished in France: the novel de flagellation, a specialized branch of erotic literature. In this context, “passionate flogging” is a sexual act consisting of experiencing an erotic pleasure to be whipped. The Flagellation books in Enfer consist of literary works on spanking, caning, and whipping.Right: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GDTLVQ153556106/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=32b93350&pg=74 Homosexual Erotica It was between the acts put on in Soho’s strip clubs that the short uncertified films Goodnight with Sabrina (1958) and Burlesque Queen (1961) would have been exhibited. With tassels twirling, over-elaborate dance steps and bodies swathed in voluminous gauze, these 8mm shorts are caught in time, oddly prim in routines that could have been choreographed by the Women’s Institute. The Uncharted Sea, meanwhile, warns young men of the dire consequences that will arise from licentious living, and the price is not left in doubt. “I’ve paid heavily for one night out,” bewails our hero, George. “I’ve lost my job, and now I have gonorrhea.”