Elmer Batters

Black Silk Stockings, Volume 1, No. 3
Batters Publications, Inc.
Hollywood, California
1958

digital replica

When he made the photographs, wrote the text and published Black Silk Stockings 3, Mr. Batters was 39 years old. By this time in his life, the Maestro had been positioning, dressing and photographing legs for at least 10 years. He developed a point of view on the practice of pin-up photography that distinguished him from his colleagues and appealed to men everywhere.

Some pictures show silk stockings, but most models wear either full-fashioned or RHT nylons. The cover model wears a burlesque costume that includes fishnets.

Models may be sitting on a bed, desk, chair or stool, kneeling on a sofa, standing, reclining with legs outstretched or perpendicular to the floor. Whatever the pose and setting, feet must be arranged by the model as though standing on tiptoe or as feet might be configured while standing in high heels.

On a field of blue, Mr. Batters displays his ideal five times on the back cover. There, as publisher, he's advertising content with a bouquet of shapely stems, each pair arranged to show his enduring vision of female perfection. The format develops a gently rounded yet complex swell at the instep, seductive arches and smooth ankles encased in the piquant graphics of full-fashioned hosiery.

A continuum of tapers — from firm thighs encircled by stretched stocking bands to subtly curving calves bisected by seams to narrow ankles adorned by knitted pyramids, to dainty toes — expresses his appreciation for a precious voluptuousness he finds in legs and feet. He believed this flow of shapes constituted a proper pin-up pose, expressing the unmistakable femaleness of his models.

In his Editorial, Mr. Batters measures the success of the first two issues by praise he's received from readers for the high quality of his products. He's written short essays to expose his opinions. In BLACK MAGIC FROM BLACK SILK STOCKINGS, he says —

BLACK MAGIC in pin-up photography consists of casting a spell of enchantment from a picture, i.e., revealing the shapely legs of an attractive girl softly encased in the translucent fabric of BLACK SILK STOCKINGS. BLACK SILK STOCKINGS have that fine quality of transmitting a soft and diffused light through to the legs creating an illusion of skin as smooth as silk while enticing additional glamour from an attractive woman who has been graciously endowed with a pair of beautiful legs.

The most potent spell that it is possible for any photographer to cast in BLACK MAGIC is to pose an attractive girl with long blonde hair, scantily attired in a black nylon nightie, wearing a pair of BLACK SILK STOCKINGS. With the foregoing combination composed into a pin-up picture delusively glorifying the beauty of an attractive pair of legs the final results could very easily leave many innocent victims (much to their delight) completely spellbound under the BLACK MAGIC of BLACK SILK STOCKINGS.

He accomplished most photography in his house decorated with contemporary furnishings' straight lines. Models take their places in bedroom, living room and kitchen, and in front of drapes and a fireplace. One set shows his sweethearts holding telephone receivers, near office equipment. One slender miss holds a spring-loaded pole lamp with adjustable cone-shaped reflectors. When his flirtatious vixens have kicked off their sexy mules, his framing includes them.

The magazine consists of 40 monochrome pages plus covers. Possibly to control print cost, there is no color centerfold. Except for the back cover, no page holds more than two images.

The digital replica includes all content in the original pages sequence, including advertising. Some carpet, drapes and walls were cropped out to obtain a more convenient file size.

Brightness and contrast of images were adjusted, shadows reduced and many specks re-touched. On most pages, the ebook improves on the picture quality of the original.

All new scans.

We admire Mr. Batters for his robust delight in the objects of his desire and their precise delineation in his photographs. The ebook presents 1950s fetish fascination with clarity and convenience.

One ebook, delivered by download from your 30th Street Graphics account.