Vintage Pulp

January 4 2021

FEELING HER WAY

I heard you the first time. I'm just choosing to ignore you.

We’ve been told that this low rent cover for Justin Kent’s 1955 fetish cheapie Touch Me Not! is by sleaze art master Eric Stanton. If so, it’s a mere sketch compared to his normal style, but we’ll accept that it’s him. Last time we checked, Touch Me Not! was selling for $155, which is outrageous for something that looks like it was stapled at a Kinko’s. But in this case at least, the buyer would get something historically significant. This book was central to an obscenity case brought in 1959 by the state of New York against Times Square bookstore owner Edward Mishkin that after seven years went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966. Mishkin lost the case, and Touch Me Not!, which had been confiscated with numerous other books, remained under wraps for fifty years. You can see plenty more Eric Stanton art by clicking his keywords below.

New York, New York City, Justin Kent, Eric Stanton, Edward Mishkin, cover art, literature, trial

Vintage Pulp

August 11 2017

DANNY TOY

Are you sure I need an entire superhero outfit? I'd feel more comfortable—and frankly more fabulous—fighting crime like this.

Danny Shannon, the lead character in Peter Sinnot’s 1966 sleazer Young Danny does not fight crime. We made that up. He’s actually just a regular guy with no superpowers whatsoever, who gets a job working in a combo hotel/health club/steam bath where wild bondage parties are held, and becomes the favored staff member of all the guests. See what we just did there? Staff member? Anyway, by the mid-1960’s sexploitation books of all types had reached the point where little was left to the imagination, and this one is a prime example, as its rear cover bluntly proclaims: “Once you enter this hotel prepare to get raped…. or rape… anything goes!”

Eric Stanton is on the cover chores here and—this is where we got the idea about crime fighting—he was strongly influenced style-wise by Jerry Robinson, the comic artist who created Robin of Batman and Robin, as well as Batman’s butler Alfred, and the villain Two-Face. Stanton was also a friend of Steve Ditko, the man who illustrated the first Spider Man comics. In fact, Stanton claims that the character of Aunt Mae was his idea. Now we know exactly where the strong comic book feel of Stanton’s art came from, and why Danny Shannon looks like a crimefighter having a costume fitting. Or maybe that’s just us. You can see plenty more from Stanton here, here, and here.

Unique Books, Peter Sinnot, Eric Stanton, Steve Ditko, Jerry Robinson, cover art, literature, bdsm, lgbt

Vintage Pulp

July 9 2017

A SIGHT FOR FOUR EYES

Grrrr... That shameless slut. If I hadn't seen her with my own two eyes—and the other two eyes on my chest—I would never have believed it.

There’s nothing quite like carny pulp, and this one has one of the better tag lines in sleaze history. The basic idea here is innocent Curtis Bryan joins a carnival only to find it a hotbed of sex, sin, and spouse swapping peopled by lesbian trapeze artists, a sex freak equestrienne, and more. Pretty soon he’s in danger of being corrupted by all the crazy goings-on. The tagline: Enter normal… exit abnormal... That is inspired. The artwork is inspired too. It’s by the uniquely great Eric Stanton, and the copyright is 1965.

First Niter, Jon Parker, Eric Stanton, cover art, literature, lgbt

Vintage Pulp

May 13 2016

FOR WORSE

All that cutesy lovey-dovey stuff was the single me. Now that we're married let me introduce you to the real me.

Above, the cover of New Bride by Glenn Allison, written for First Niter and published in 1960. The art is by Eric Stanton, formerly obscure, but in the midst of a renaissance these last several years, and deservedly so. Check some of his astonishing pieces here.

First Niter, Glenn Allison, Eric Stanton, cover art, literature

Vintage Pulp

October 30 2015

PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS

This is the pleasure department, sir. Pain was consolidated here after last month’s corporate downsizing.

More fun sleaze today, a cover for Myron Kosloff’s 1964 opus Dial “P” for Pleasure, from First Niter, a subsidiary of Connoisseur Publications, with Eric Stanton cover art. You get sexual hijinks at the Hotel Park-Ritz, with swapping, bondage, lesbianism, and all the other fun things in life. This was, if you can believe, made into a porn movie of the same name in 1978 starring Susan Wong and Sharon Mitchell.

First Niter, Myron, Kosloff, Eric Stanton, Susan Wong, Sharon Mitchell, cover art, literature, bdsm

Vintage Pulp

April 28 2015

UNWANTED NEIGHBORS

Well, it was a nice little island while it lasted.

At top you see a cover for Private Island by Dorian Cole, 1966, from After Hours Books, one of the lower rent practitioners of sleaze lit. The cover art is by Eric Stanton, whose decades of illustration work have been immortalized in two big collections by the German art book publisher Taschen. You see one of those covers here as well. Stanton was apparently known as the “Rembrandt of pulp culture,” at least according to Taschen. Them’s mighty bold words, but of course Taschen is trying to sell $50 coffee table books, so what else would they say?

In reality, Stanton was a unique artist whose simplicity of style translated nicely to low budget sexploitation paperbacks such as Shawna deNelle’s Lady Boss, which we shared a couple of years ago. Or put another way, based on the above example could you see Stanton illustrating Mike Hammer or James Bond books? No, right? But he was a perfect match for sleaze imprints like After Hours. His effort for Private Island is nearly perfect, featuring his trademark elongated figures and bold color usage, and it ranks as a favorite cover for us.

Germany, After Hours Books, Taschen, Private Island, Dorian Cole, Eric Stanton, cover art, literature

Vintage Pulp

April 29 2013

HORRIBLE BOSSES

All these jobs are so alike they just start to fade together after a while.

Secretary: “Somehow, I thought working for a woman would be different.”

Lady Boss: “You’ll get no favors from me, sweetheart. I got where I am because I play the game the same way men do.”

Secretary: “I understand that now. I think I’m missing a button.”

Lady Boss: “You know what else is missing? A cup of coffee in my hand. Now get to brewing—chop chop!

After Hours Books, Shawna deNelle, Eric Stanton, cover art, literature

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 10

1971—London Bridge Goes Up

After being sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in the resort town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

October 10

1975—Burton and Taylor Marry Again

British actor Richard Burton and American screen star Elizabeth Taylor secretly remarry sixteen months after their divorce, then jet away to a second honeymoon in Chobe Game Park in Botswana.

October 9

1967—ChÃ© Executed in Bolivia

A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed in Bolivia. In an attempt to make it appear as though he had been killed resisting Bolivian troops, the executioner shoots Guevara with a machine gun, wounding him nine times in the legs, arm, shoulder, throat, and chest.

October 8

1918—Sgt. York Becomes a Hero

During World War I, in the Argonne Forest in France, America Corporal Alvin C. York leads an attack on a German machine gun nest that kills 25 and captures 132. He is a corporal during the event, but is promoted to sergeant as a result. He also earns Medal of Honor from the U.S., the Croix de Guerre from the French Republic, and the Croce di Guerra from Italy and Montenegro. Stateside, he is celebrated as a hero, and Hollywood even makes a movie entitled Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper.

October 8

1956—Larsen Pitches Perfect Game

The New York Yankees’ Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series against hated rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is the only perfect game in World Series history, as well as the only no-hitter.

October 7

1959—Dark Side of Moon Revealed

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).