Gay Art + Photography

Boy's Boys
by Stanislaus Mell
illustrated by Eric Stanton
Bee Dee Publications
1968

digital replica

Mister Sister
by Stanislaus Mell
illustrated by Eric Stanton
Bee Dee Publications
1968

digital replica

A customer in the UK asked if we could make an ebook of Mister Sister, an 80-page booklet illustrated by Eric Stanton. A little research led us to a new but slightly damaged copy in Maryland, possibly the last unsold copy on earth. Additional inquiry disclosed that Mister Sister was one of two booklets in a series that included Boy's Boys.

Both of these pocket-sized volumes begin with introductions that refer to 200-year-old text crafted by a Hungarian named Stanislaus Mell. These brief paragraphs apologize for re-locating Mr. Mell's story from 18th century Budapest to 20th century Illinois as they were translated into English.

While content latitude grew for US publishers throughout the 1960s, pornography with homosexual themes continued to be a genre that scratched the envelope of acceptable subject matter. After the Stonewall violence, attitudes budged, but press freedom flourished following early 1970s court decisions.

Writing, illustrating and publishing gay stories in 1968 dared pique condemnation and persecution by local holy men, especially those holy men who were gay. Except as alleged author of source material for two booklets, the internet reveals nothing about anyone named Stanislaus Mell. The words “Bee Dee Publications” were printed on inside front covers without an address. Mr. Stanton's name or signature appear nowhere. In effect, the two volumes are anonymous (or pseudonymous) and needed to be.

Two booklets of about 20,000 words each add up to a prose length similar to 1968's Wrong Jail or an average-sized Bizarre Books book. In making these two volumes into ebooks, it became apparent that Mister Sister is sequel to Boy's Boys. Many characters appear in both.

As in mainstream fiction, 1960s erotic novels employed an oblique vocabulary when describing sexual activity between characters. Common homosexual mechanisms aren't even alluded to here. While 1970s erotica described superlative sensations, volumes and dimensions, 1960s prose pixelated the action behind filmy curtains of words like these:

And LeClerc slipped the bikini down to Quinn’s ankles, then looped it around them twice so that they bound him. Then he returned to the core of his task, matching the certain, authoritative tonguing of his willing victim/adversary/companion with arts of his own. Thick, sensuous lips performed glorious tasks they had mastered to the loftiest of arts. Skills polished and perfected with a hundred diverse friends were demonstrated as silently two masters - one young, virile and eager, the other a seasoned master technician - brought the ultimate pleasure to each other.

Slowly, carefully, vigorously, artistically each brought the other to a glorious, rocketing, shuddering, dynamic climax, perfectly timed. Every treasured drop of emotion was drained from the other, drained until the last thrilling, pulsing, trembling nerve shivered to a stop and pounding pulses and quickened breath lost their frantic paces and dropped to near normal.

As the work features gay sex, it's a male protagonist who manages an esoteric enterprise that accommodates the needs of gay men who embarrass their wealthy families. Several plot strands relate to blackmail.

Motifs later developed in 1970s Bizarre Books novels appear here with clarity. Ancillary bondage, domination, transvestite, flagellation and man-to-man rape elements animate the institutional setting, but motivation for carnal extremes is less about sadism than keeping the place profitable.

Mr. Stanton's mixed media illustrations delineate feminine men with svelte bodies and pretty faces, teasing penumbras of gender duality. Fabrics drape and fold in response to gravity and light. These pictures (seven in Mister Sister, 9 in Boy's Boys) again remind us of the Maestro's virtuosity and profound skill at rendering sexy characters in kinky situations.

In originals and the ebooks, pictures precede chapters. The narrative content of Mr. Stanton's art closely aligns with story events.

Brightness, contrast and levels were adjusted. The illustrations transposed nicely to digital iterations.

All new scans. No nudity.

The text was re-set for the ebooks. Although some spelling, punctuation, sentencing and paragraphing were changed, the fluent text retains its colorful vernacular.

In proportions and typefaces, ebooks approximate the graphics of the 4ʺ x 7ʺ originals, which contain no advertising. Horizontally oriented pictures were rotated for viewing convenience.

Three hundred years ago, a Hungarian poet may have written a sonnet to his lover. Bizarre escapades exposed in Mister Sister and Boy's Boys read like 20th century curiosa. Attribution to antique origins serves as historic pretext for this contemporary erotica, analogous to notices in pin-up magazines that claimed nude pictures serve as instructive guides for artists, photographers and models. The gifted author(s) of these little gems conjured a conceit that continues to tantalize.

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