MAFE FLESH

X-rated flicks used to have A-rated promo art.

Since we got on the subject of x-rated films this weekend, we thought we’d continue the theme today. Back in the 70s smut often had beautiful promotional material, usually painted by extremely talented pulp-style artists. Here are two prime examples. Italian illustrator Mafé painted both of these, and as you can see, they’re a far cry from the gynecological tab A into slot B collages of modern porno art. We’re too young to know, but we hear there was a time when porn was considered liberating rather than exploitative. It was considered a way for women to throw off the shackles of male domination by taking control of their own sexuality. But somewhere along the way the form became a perfunctory and semi-violent money mill, extremely profitable, of course, but completely sans art or passion. Though we disagree here on the eternal bush/no bush question, we’re unanimous that the old porn was better.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1967—Boston Strangler Convicted

Albert DeSalvo, the serial killer who became known as the Boston Strangler, is convicted of murder and other crimes and sentenced to life in prison. He serves initially in Bridgewater State Hospital, but he escapes and is recaptured. Afterward he is transferred to federal prison where six years later he is killed by an inmate or inmates unknown.

1950—The Great Brinks Robbery Occurs

In the U.S., eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts. The skillful execution of the crime, with only a bare minimum of clues left at the scene, results in the robbery being billed as “the crime of the century.” Despite this, all the members of the gang are later arrested.

1977—Gary Gilmore Is Executed

Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on Capital punishment in the United States. Gilmore’s story is later turned into a 1979 novel entitled The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, and the book wins the Pulitzer Prize for literature.

1942—Carole Lombard Dies in Plane Crash

American actress Carole Lombard, who was the highest paid star in Hollywood during the late 1930s, dies in the crash of TWA Flight 3, on which she was flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles after headlining a war bond rally in support of America’s military efforts. She was thirty-three years old.

1919—Luxemburg and Liebknecht Are Killed

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps. Freikorps was a term applied to various paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. Members of these groups would later become prominent members of the SS.

Any part of a woman's body can be an erogenous zone. You just need to have skills.
Uncredited 1961 cover art for Michel Morphy's novel La fille de Mignon, which was originally published in 1948.

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