#296 - Leather and Lace Annual Edition Master Sex

Leather and Lace, Annual Edition
no publisher or date shown
c. 1965

digital replica

and

Master Sex . . ?
Marquis Publishers
New York, New York
c. 1965

digital replica

Leather and Lace, Annual Edition

This publication is similar to Bronze Beauties, Annual Edition. Both have
— pages with the same unusual dimensions (6 x 9).
— the same paper.
— squares that obscure nipples on covers.
— a mix of fetish and pinup pix.
— air-brushed and non-air-brushed photographs.
— four lovely female figures drawn by Gene Bilbrew.
— one short story.
— Annual Edition in their name.
— pictures of models who appeared in Selbee zines.
— many pictures that jump the gutter (span two pages).

Possibly, the toplessness of the lovelies in the booklet position it on the far side of propriety for its day, and the publishers thought a veil of anonymity would make them difficult-to-find if an ambitious prosecutor became aware of the daring content. The deliberate anonymity of Leather and Lace, Annual Edition, renders its origins a mystery.

But quality is obvious in all details. The photography is better than good and production generally conscientious.



Sixty-eight larger-than-digest-size pages have a mix of big and tiny photographs. Models wear lingerie, stockings, garters, garter belts and pumps, some with high heels. French fille Marie Gautier appears in a vintage corset and short boots. It's a deliberate mix of interests and the editor uses the word mix twice in the first sentence of his editorial.



Michelle Boyer and Rita DeCastro appear in the biggest pictorials. Other lovely show-offs include Maureen Frawley, Vikki Marlo, Diana Dorn, Carol Luis, Ann Wesley, and Bettie Page, but some are unnamed.



Professional photographers did excellent work, directing pinup models during posing sessions. Some slender, some zoftig, each shapely lass exposes what's prettiest about herself in these sets. Some of the stockings and contours have a gleam produced by airbrush paint.



The digital replica includes all the content of the magazine in the original page sequence. The tonality of pictures was adjusted to improve brightness and contrast. Except for the cover, which is slightly reduced, all content is shown full-size in the ebook. All original scans.



The Leather and Lace, Annual Edition, ebook provides a true digital replica of the unique original, a nicely made volume packaged to attract fans of pretty girls in stockings and heels. The zine is a satisfying cheesecake sweet, with unexpected fetish treats.

Master Sex . . ?
Photographs we've seen in early issues of Bizarre Life magazine interrupt an essay rife with surmise, opinion, fake case histories, anonymous experts and self-serving generalizations. Although Dr. Bienvenu's dissertation makes no reference to Marquis publishers, the beliefs expressed repeat those of Mr. Burtman, as written in Exotique and its many descendants.



Ideology explained in the Master Sex . . ? booklet reflects the turmoil that swirled the world in the stormy wake of Ms. Friedan's Feminine Mystique of 1963. Mr. Bilbrew contributes an illustration of a short-haired blond (looks a little like Carol Doda) holding a whip while she presses her high-heeled boot into a man's belly. Her costume also consists of long gloves and a buckled version of Rudi Gernreich's startling monokini beach frock of 1964. One of the filler photos appears to be from the Bonnie Allen hotel room set, which appeared in the 1966 premiere issue of Bizarre Life. Thus, we can date the piece from the mid-1960s.



The digital replica includes all the content of the magazine in the original page sequence. The tonality of pictures was adjusted to improve brightness and contrast. Except for the cover, which is slightly reduced, all content is shown full-size in the ebook. All original scans.



The 30-page booklet repeats familiar pictures of Toni Troy and a couple of Tana Louise in short white boots. The digital replica may evoke a chuckle as we reminisce about the panic that seized mid-century men who felt on the verge of their own marginalization when women mobilized for equality.



The publication teases that dominating women have strong sexual allure, especially when dressed in fetish attire. Finally, gratuitous advice prescribes moderation. As we breath in the future those men fretted about, we have a new gang of menaces to dread, none of which relates to gender supremacy.

Two ebooks, delivered by download from your 30th Street Graphics account.