Frida Kahlo Uterus Plushie

I love this Frida Kahlo Uterus Plushie by VulvaLoveLovely -- not only adorable, but the artist has substance to go with her skills, creating an ode of a post to Kahlo and her creation.

Yes; I do accept gifts.

Men, Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve...

Or your lust on your shirt.


The seller says:

The single most collectible and rare item we've ever had, probably. This late 60's man's vintage shirt with a photo of a gorgeous naked black lady, with an afro, on the back and a smaller print of her on the front chest. White semi sheer probably nylon but it's not labeled.

The souvenir that says, "Mom & Dad went to Sparta, and all I got was this vase with a nude woman on it."

The Etsy seller says this vintage pastel double-bud vase has a sticker on it that says it's a souvenir from Sparta, Wisconsin.


Just who did you bring that back for... The kids? For the in-laws who got your mail and fed your dog? (If it was me, hell yea!) Or maybe it was what folks who honeymooned in Sparta, Wisconsin brought back.

All I know is, I've got to visit Sparta; if these were the souvenirs of yesteryear, what can you get there today?

Some Thoughts (And Images) On Smoking

Smoking hot Sophia Loren; Bert Stern photo published November 1, 1962, Vogue.


Smoking is my choice, or at least it's my legal addiction; so Fuck off.



Should you be trying to quit (and we all do try), how about this cigarette case (or wallet) that I have dubbed "Nevermore?" sold at sweetheartsinner at Etsy; found via Relationship Underarm Stick.



And now you know what I've been up to... What I've been trying to do which has sucked the soul out of me. How 'bout you?

She Flips His Tie Up

Risque 70's tie by Gill's, it's retro tackiness is a conservative front for the nude on the back which hysterical salesmen can flip up and flash at special clients. Available at Dorothea's Closet.

Another Visit To The Pink Pussy Cat

More on the Pink Pussy Cat of Hollywood...

Hugh was cleaning up his desk and ran across something he had saved from about 1965:

A friend and I, just out of university - went for the first time to LA - and wound up at the Pink Pussy Cat.

That led me to search the web - since I thought I remembered a recent news cast that said the Pink Pussy Cat burned down. I found your blog, noted the artifacts in your blog and found I had a couple that you don't have. See attached jpg.

The pink feathers were stuck into your hair by the waitresses - they are meant to be "ears".

Notice, lads and lasses, when you click the image to read the larger scan, that the Pink Pussy Cat Stripper's Kit includes not only costume pieces (aka "Teasing Togs") and the stripper curriculum (with you boys giving the final exam), but a subscription to the Pink Pussy Cat Magazine -- now that's what I'm talking 'bout!

Since We Blow Money On Nude Babes...

Via Cameo Heaven, a vintage nudie pin-up money clip; reverse-painted on glass.

"Paint Me"

I found this at eBay and know little about it -- but that only fascinates me more...

Unusual 50" X 27" poster for "Texoprint printing paper". Little circles of women with painted bodies are glued over the poster in spots.

Scream-Singing The Praises Of The Black Canary Figurine

Collin writes of the latest luck of "B-list DC superheroine", the Black Canary, to get have three high end action figures released at once -- and it amuses me.

Barbie collectors recently got a high-end Black Canary figure for about $40, but the figure caused something of an uproar because of Canary's black-leather-and-fishnets attire. While the comic costume is meant to evoke something of a burlesque crimefighting kind of thing, overzealous parents decried Black Canary Barbie as a prostitute, or a participant in that most unholy of all personal practices, bondage. Never mind that most people should be aware by now that many Barbies are intended for adult collectors and are sold as such - someone just needed an excuse to be outraged.

I don't know why Barbie collectors act so damn weird about this stuff when there's not a kid in the world who collects Babs and Co. All the 'fashion dolls' are for adults, of various levels of perversity and orientations, and they have the adult price tags to prove it.

Collin continues:

Tonner's female figures are absolutely the company's strength but my love of females definitely provides a bias. Man, do I love females. While I loved Tonner's Batman, he's a very pretty man. The delicate, angelic doll look that Tonner employs fits so much easier with the female figures, which are radiant and idealized - very true to the idea behind much comic art. Apparently, superpowers make you really, really hot - unless you're being written by Grant Morrison. That guy's messed up.

I love a grown man who not only admits to playing with dolls (and action figures are dolls), but loves the erotic nature of the babes too. (OK, he doesn't quite use any erotic terms, but do I have to fill in all the dots for you?) Here's a passage wherein the collector hints at his lust more specifically:

Correct me if I'm wrong, ladies, but there must be something pretty awesome about modern fishnet technology, because I'm seeing it used everywhere, and more effectively than ever. Even DC Direct's 6" Black Canary action figure had these great fabric fishnets fixed around her legs - which is always so much more aesthetic than sculpted-on fishnets, which often end up looking like scarring from some kind of horrible waffle iron accident instead of high fashion. Canary has great fishnet stockings, and under them is a thin layer of flesh-colored fabric that covers the leg as a second stocking, and completely hides the knee joins, creating a seamless leg very effectively. And the perfect little boots? They zipper down the back. I almost wish I had some kind of weird shoe fetish, because the engineering of these is really impressive.

"Almost wish" you had a shoe fetish? Sounds like you're already there, Collin.

Personally, I'm intrigued with the metal stand holding her crotch. Now that looks like a great BDSM toy; part chastity belt, with access for forced orgasms.

I don't know a thing about the Black Canary, but I'm told that her secret weapon is a screaming head -- pretty sure that stand's got something to do with it.

How Many Nude Ladies Does It Take To Hold Up Your Pants?

A sexy belt buckle (and bottle opener) with nine nude ladies forming a skull -- much like a famous Salvador Dali photograph.

Well Ain't That A Kick In The Crotch

I'm sure most of you have seen these old bootjacks where the V notch for boot removal is a woman's crotch, but this one is especially neat as it's marked "NELL'S PLACE". While it's supposedly marked for a business, the fact that it's put on a bootjack of a spread female form has additional innuendo (or would that be a double entendre?)

She'll Kitsch You Goodnight

If you liked the retro nudie radios, you might find this lights you up too.




Box is marked MADE IN HONG KONG, NO 311 F.

Risque Fun With Lederhosen

This naughty souvenir lederhosen coin purse expresses greetings from Ulm (in the 70's) -- and it has a message for those of you who dare to open the flap.




"Sei nicht so neugierig" loosely translates to "Don't be so curious".

Oh, but I am *wink*

Halloween Heartbeats For The Bran Castle

Bran Castle, built in the 14th century as a fortress to protect against the invading Ottoman Turks, was home to the Romanian royal family from the 1920s until the communist regime confiscated it in 1948. At the end of communist rule in the 1980's, Bran Castle was restored, dubbed "Dracula's Castle," and thus became a popular tourist attraction, with some 450,000 people visiting the castle each year.

While Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, aka "Vlad the Impaler", may or may not have ever stayed at Bran Castle, the Transylvanian castle did inspire Bram Stoker's classic 1897 novel Dracula -- and apparently that is enough for millions of people.

Me? I'm not such a fan of horror & blood. But I am a lover of affairs of the heart & hearts themselves... beating with life they literally keep the beat of our lives, turning the rapid pulse of emotion into the racing hearts of passion and then the heated pumping of erotic acts... and how the heart stills with emotional too, be it the skip at romantic introduction or the pause when the heart is broken... I even love them long after they've stopped beating. So, I'd still go see the Bran Castle -- but not for Dracula; I'd go for Queen Marie of Romania.

While married to Ferdinand of Romania, Marie not only had an affair with Lieutenant Zixi Cantacuzene which produced a child "disappeared from history"; a longer affair with Barbu Ştirbey which produced at least one son, Prince Mircea, and possibly one daughter, Princess Ileana; but Princess Maria (called Mignon) might have been the daughter of Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia.

Certainly all of this had to have affected Marie's thinking regarding her son, King Carol II, and his relationship with Magda Lupescu -- first his mistress, and this his wife after his abdication -- but she publicly stated he had "sinned grievously". The irony seems to have been lost to Marie who only became further estranged from her son.

All such juicy things to further investigate...

And then there's this bit: Queen Marie made arrangements in her will for her heart to be kept in a cloister at the Balchik Palace -- her son Carol II dutifully carried out the request.



In 1940 her heart was transferred to the chapel at Bran Castle (the casket with Queen Marie's heart has since been moved to National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest).

Who doesn't want to pilgrimage to this woman's home?

If that's not enough to seduce you to, how about this quote from Queen Marie regarding a proselytizer:

I have met ..... I did not like him. He seemed to me to be a snob. He spoke of God as if He were the oldest title in the Almanach de Gotha. And all that business about telling one's sins in public -- He wanted me ... me ... to get up before my children and confess everything I had ever done! It is spiritual nudism! Ça se ne fait pas.

(From All I Could Never Be, by Beverley Nichols.)

In 2005, the Romanian government passed a law allowing restitution claims on properties seized by the Communist government of Romania in 1948. It was due to this law that, in 2006, the Romanian government awarded ownership of Bran Castle to the son and heir of Princess Ileana, Archduke Dominic of Austria, Prince of Tuscany, known as Dominic von Habsburg -- then a 68-year-old New York architect.

Because of Princess Ileana's questionable lineage, among other things, the property distribution was challenged; but as Queen Marie herself named Ileana as the one to inherit Bran Castle, the Constitutional Court of Romania and an investigation commission of the Romanian government reaffirmed the validity & legality of the restitution procedures used and in December 2007 issued confirmation that the restitution to Ileana's son, von Habsburg, was made in full compliance with the law.

According to the contract signed when Bran castle was returned, the government pays rent to von Habsburg for the right to run the castle as a museum (including charging admission) for three years. That period ends in 2009 and full rights to the castle & property will then transfer to von Habsburg.

Having no experience with running a museum, von Habsburg and his family have put the castle up for sale to those "who will treat the property and its history with appropriate respect."

I'm not sure my lusty love of history would meet approval; but as Bran Castle is expected to fetch over $135 million, I don't suppose I could afford it anyway.

Vintage Domestic Violence S&P Shakers Really Shake Me Up

The seller says these salt & pepper shakers are:

a little risque....a little naughty by 1940's standards anyways....they are along the line of "Jiggs and Maggie", if you remember that cartoon strip.

(Link added by SPS.)



Risque?!

Let's get real here. The woman brandishes a rolling pin -- from the lump on his head, she's connected at least once already. How does he retaliate? By removing her breast!




Honestly, just where did one display or use such S&P shakers? At the dinner table with the kids? When one entertained business associates? When the in-laws came over? Or maybe they were just used in the basement or rec-room bar, where drunk folks thought such risque things were supposed to be.

We're concerned (yet again) with a bare breast but not the violence -- even when the violence has severed a breast.

These are so bad that I must have them; like African Americans collect the horrible history that is Black Americana, I must have them.

I don't ask you for much, readers... So donate money to me so that I may buy them -- or let me know that you'll be buying them for me. (No need to bid against one another now!)

The Biology Of Salt & Pepper Shakers

Rather unusual vintage nude S & P shakers -- wanna guess which end poos black bits of pepper and which dribbles white salt? I guess we should just count ourselves lucky there's no dispensing of paprika.

Whoa, Nelly

Whoa there, Nelly; this Hong Shan jade horse may be well hung, but it's for showin' not for, err, stowin'


The seller says:

Large Jade Phallus Phallic with Horse -5000 B.C.

Dating: Neolithic Period (Hong Shan culture, 5000-3000 B.C)

Material: Jade stone

Weight: 1850gram, 1.85Kg

Dimension: 335*105mm, 13.19"*4.13" (Length*Height)

Condition: Good Original, Slight degenerate, very fine hand carving

Sealed With A Little Wax Penis

Via Gloria Brame I discovered this antique sterling silver Intaglio Ring with a phallus carved into the Carnelian stone.

She May Be Your Doll, But...

People are calling her "VPILF" and "Caribou Barbie" -- but even as a doll Sarah Palin is too misogynistic for me to contemplate as sexy.

High-Five Friday

This week's High-Five Fridays:

1) June Wilkinson Cover Art. It may not be June's full resume, but this collection of scans covers 1958 - 1999.

2) Archive of vintage Picturegoer Magazine covers, indexed by celebrity name.

3) Foundation garments inspired by the fashions of Queen Victoria and King Edward.

4) Just Like Us?: "What's the point of a portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire with the politics left out? The new film version works well as a study in misogyny, argues Amanda Vickery, but spare us the cod psychologising and allusions to Princess Di."

5) Cool stuff from Burlesquebabes's Gallery at Zazzle:

Fucking Vienna Bronze Letter Opener

A 9 inch long antique bronze letter opener depicting a fornicating satyr and a nymph, cast in the traditional lost wax technique by Bermann.







From the seller's listing, this information on satyrs:

Satyrs are most commonly described as having the upper half of a man and the lower half of a goat. They are also described as possessing a long thick tail, either that of a goat or a horse. Mature satyrs are often depicted with goat's horns, while juveniles are often shown with bony nubs on their foreheads. Attic painted vases depict satyrs as being strongly built with flat noses, large pointed ears, long curly hair, and full beards, with wreaths of vine or ivy circling their heads. Satyrs often carry the thyrsus: the rod of Dionysus tipped with a pine cone.

They are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk — subversive and dangerous, yet shy and cowardly. As Dionysiac creatures they are lovers of wine, women and boys, and are ready for every physical pleasure. They roam to the music of pipes (auloi), cymbals, castanets, and bagpipes, and love to dance with the nymphs (with whom they are obsessed, and whom they often pursue), and have a special form of dance called sikinnis. Because of their love of wine, they are often represented holding winecups, and appear often in the decorations on winecups.

Satyrs are not immortal, but grow old. On painted vases and other Greek art, satyrs are represented in the three stages of a man's life: mature satyrs are bearded, and are shown as balding, a humiliating and unbecoming disfigurement in Greek culture.

Gotta Collect 'Em All

No, they're not toys; they're condoms -- Wacky Rubbers, literally & figuratively.




Some glow, others light-up, some play music, so I guess these rubbers are for the Pokemon-esque who wants to 'collect them all.'

I wonder how many future collectors will know what these are -- or if they will think they are collecting kids' toys. I don't give a hoot for lights & music in my coot, but the shapes are intriguing. Often creepy too; but still that's intriguing.

The gas mask is strange, the hand so freakin' girlie it boggles... But I'll admit the fingertips intrigue me as a female recipient.



Who wants to stick a cute smiley-faced flower up there? (If things are going as they should, her face is gonna bash my cervix -- a lot.)



The rocket ship design makes me think of every man who has talked about "blast-off, baby". Usually these are the same guys who not only refer to their penis in the third person & name it but also refer to it so often in regular conversation you start to wonder if they don't realize it's not really its own entity.

Here's two from their Astrology line.




Like the Little Mermaid panties my daughter once wore, I wonder why on earth these people think we want crabs anywhere near our genitals...

The teapot, makes me think of the after use -- "just tip me over and pour me out."



Via Bust's blog, which has an interesting post on them too.

Belated High-Five Friday

High-Five Friday is late due to a secret, clandestine meeting of FF. This is all I can say for now... But the high-fives are still due, so here we go:

1) Dutch Delftware Dildo, anyone? Combines the quaint and the cunt.

And I swear I had that bookmarked for a high-five before I discovered that...

2) Audacia Ray had posted about my Earl Kemp needlepoint. Thanks!

3) John Coulthart sent an update on Kafka's Porn Stash -- I could paraphrase him, but he says it so well:

We seem to have much ado about very little here. The latest teacup storm:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/aug/15/franzkafka.germany

The pictures in question are mostly drawings as far as I can gather. Some of them rather well-known:

"a picture of a baby emerging from a sliced-open leg."

...which is one of Beardsley's Lucian illustrations:

http://www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/damndata/index.php?/archives/1038-A-Bizarre-Birth.html

Ah well.

4) The Harry Mohney's Erotic Heritage Museum may not be news to many of you, and this news story is older too, but I love this part too much not to high-five it:

It's important to preserve such collections, said Jerry Zientara, a librarian for the institute who also teaches "erotology" -- the study of the depiction of the acts of love and sex -- because they're part of our history.

"Erotic history is the same as any kind of history," he said. "It's just like art history, but the subject matter goes further. Because it's sexual, a lot of people aren't interested in preserving it. How often does someone's uncle die and when the Playboys are found, they go to the Dumpster?"

5) Lastly, the lovely Curvaceous Dee sent me a link to this wonderful erotic ivory chess set, by Russian Mammoth (image shown below). I thank her for the link; but would have preferred she'd have sent me the chess set. *wink*

Serving Master

I know what you're wondering, "Why is this little dog bringing his master his whip here at Silent Porn Star?"

Well, Virginia, I spend many hours looking at smut which colors my, um, "world view"... And I have quite a large number of Dominatrix friends. So I can't help but think this antique piece would be just too wonderful holding BDSM toys. Pups paws are even crossed, reminding me of bound wrists.

If you're inclined to agree, you can bid on it. It's item #1175 in the James D. Julia Auction's three day auction, August 26-28, 2008, the catalog says:

OUTSTANDING CAST IRON UMBRELLA/CANE STAND. The figural form of a standing dog holding a double looped whip. The dog stands on a pedestal and the scrolled base holds a separate cast iron leaf form drip pan marked "Chase Brothers & Co. Makers, Boston No. 11". An unusual and desirable form. Painted in black overall. SIZE: 23" h x 20" w x 13" d. CONDITION: Some rust, generally very good. 9-94027 (1,400-2,000)

A Stud In Hand...

Is Worth Two Under The Bed



So reads this vintage Bakelite trinket box, a dresser piece to hold men's shirt studs. Very pun-ny, yes?




The seller says it measures 3 inches in diameter and 3 is a "fabulous little memento of the days when "Gentlemen" dressed to the nines and used all those lovely gold and onyx studs in their starched shirts!"

Puppies In Private Places Is Unappetizing

Of this risqué and creepé salt & pepper shaker set the seller says:

This listing is for a one vintage risque set of salt & pepper shakers featuring a nude woman with puppies. One pup is perched on her butt while the other is snuggled warm and nicely between her ummm....see pics. She is wearing nothing but an expression of sheer pleasure. Every part of her has glaze except her knees (hummmmm). Measuring a mere 1 1/2" tall with no chips or cracks she's waiting. Ohhhhhhhh Yeaaaaaaah. Being sold as-found, as-consigned. The pottery is almost Wade-like, but they are unmarked.

Give Me Head(s)

These may be considered "head vase related" collectibles, but it's not the heads you will be looking at.

This first one is a Davar Originals (Japan) -- and when you hear what she's for, you'll understand her expression. She's an ashtray! Yup, you flick your red-hot ashes into her ample bosom.


In this version by Sonsco she's got "Room For More" printed beneath her bodice.




This is an unmarked beauty -- and I think she likes the hot ashes on her breasts, 'cuz she's winking.



Or maybe she's just got an ash in her eye.

Dorm Room Rabbit Doll For College Men Who Went On Panty Raids & Read Playboy

Zine Girls is offering this vintage 24" plush "Collegiate Rabbit Doll", which is said to be a mail order only official Playboy item offered in the 50's & 60's.

These are the details:

- White cloth doll with Plush head and hands
- Rabbit wears a College Letterman Sweater with white "P"
- White corduroy pants with Plastic Shoes
- Glossy Button eyes, black yarn Mouth, pink felt Nose

Far-Out Fonda-esque Fabric

Alexander Henry's 2004 "Futurella" fabric sure looks a lot like Fonda in Barbarella.

Another Nude Paint By Number

A horrible listing for an adorable vintage paint by number:

Open for biding is 1 outlawed paint by number nude painting of a german women.

The painting is dated and signed.This picture was outlawed as the company went to all other painting seens accept nude paintings.

The painting is in a frame under glass in excellent condition with a lovely petina.

The painting aged nicely and my photo's do not do this pasintings petina justice.

You wil not see any of these on ebay as they were made for a very short time.

Please look on ebay in past or present auction and you will not see a paint by number painting such as this.

For collectors of paint by number paintings this is a once in a lifetime chance to own a rare collectable such as this outlawed paint by number nude German women.

This paintings value will increase year by year as the few that have been made are being held by art collectors who are not selling these.I am selling the painting as is,(in excellect condition) this was made in the year of 1957 and was painted in 1959.

Grammar & spelling errors aside, I don't know how anyone with a feedback rating of 43 can boast something is rare with the "proof" that you'll not find another like it in their listings.

Rarity as far as "being pulled" is inconclusive at best. No company is listed, so I cannot research catalogs, and without the painting's number it would be a tough feat as most paint by number nudes were sold by number, without visual representation.

But she is a cutie, regardless.

Vagina Is For Lovers

Spotting Vagina Is For Lovers by VictoreNYC was amusing, but, oh! the description:

James Victore is a dinner plate pirate. Spontaneously hijacking unsuspecting porcelain with a fat black paint pen, he marks his bounty with drawings of skulls and birds and fish (dead ones). And
he’s not above the occasional slogan, either. “Vagina is for lovers,” anybody? What drives a a graphic designer / illustrator / raconteur with a widely recognized body of work to start tagging plates in public? What else? “I love the look and feel of a marker on the off-white plate surface, but I used to make them to meet girls.” He also used his plate drawings to entertain friends and waiters. Or should that be buy off waiters? “I thought they would be mad if they caught me, but they usually wanted one.”

The Wolf In Psychiatrist Clothing

I grabbed this at a flea market this past weekend for a dollar. Too much, I know, for such a scuffed button; but I had to have it because I have a few items which play upon and exploit the fear of psychiatry, but none so succinctly. (And I did talk him down from $2.)

I'm A Psychiatrist
Lie Down

Approximately 3 inches in diameter.

Pinup Collection

A few photos from a pinup collection at Collectors' Quest, via A Slip of a Girl.

Carved Ivory Medicine Lady

From back in the day when women couldn't literally be seen by their doctors; they pointed at the doll to delicately discuss what ailed them.


This one is 11 1/2 inches long and available at Ivey-Selkirk.

Where You Put Your Tiny Bubbles

Don Ho drinking glasses:

3.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 at base. Two glasses, very cool. Mint. Red image of Mr. Ho . Polynesian Palace, Waikiki, Hawaii. From Cinerama and Reef Towers Hotel. No idea as to date, but likely 1970’s (judging from whatwe know of the previous owners).

Fun, Sun, Begun and Done

A set of vintage coasters with a pinup stripping to sunbathe nude.


Via Tias

Stone You Might Like To Bone

Prehistoric nudes, via Unscathed Corpse.

Clever Cleo

I'd love to know more about this pin... All the seller says is that it's a "Vintage Risque Clever Cleo Advertising Pinback Button." Not even any measurements. :sigh:

If anyone knows more, please do tell.



(Cleo may have been clever, but a seller sans information is not.)

Kids, Cover Your Eyes...

And collectors, cover the faces on this pin, for there's a surprise according to the seller:

Dates to the tent burlesque shows of the 1920’s to 1940’s. The risqué prize given in the boxes of candy hawked before the show to the audience patiently waiting for the show to begin. This was the top ultimate risqué prize in each and every box - if you paid the price. Risqué, look at the pin and cover the heads and hands (the secret is out). 2 ½ inch diameter. If you are around 80 years old you my remember these shows, if not, too bad, they were fun and interesting to say the least. This is a real piece of carnival and tent shows nostalgia. Yes, I bought the candy to get this wonderful prize!

Malleus Maleficarum Demons Chronicals Mini-Figures

Collin at CQ reviews Demons Chronicle XI Mini-Figures: Malleus Maleficarum:

Historically, the ‘Malleus Maleficarum’, or ‘The Hammer of Witches’, was a book written in 1486 by a pair of ornery witch hunters, during the height of the persecution of these perceived ‘witches’. The invention of the printing press around this time allowed the book to spread far and wide, despite being banned by the Catholic Church as ‘unethical’. It’s a very interesting read, with entire chapters dedicated to things like “What do you do if you’ve been physically emasculated by a witch?”, which seemed to be a fairly major concern. That, and witchcraft being an affront to God, of course - but mostly, there was a lot of terror about strange vanishings in trouser town, all written in an anecdotal style akin to ‘one time I heard about this guy and this thing TOTALLY happened to him.’

The book also addresses the fact that witches can turn men into beasts, though they rarely seem to turn other females into lesser forms. By extension, these witches also had the power to make themselves ridiculously seductive, so that barely any magic was needed against whichever male they sought to ruin - just purely biological sex appeal. This is the complicated premise of the eleventh and latest set of Demons Chronicle gashapon, created by Yanoman in Japan.

Looking at them, I'm a bit surprised to see such a number of them with an ancient Egyptian theme; then again, there's the standard mythology of zodiac themes, a requisite in anything anime. Scantily clad and even nude, I should just be happy there are no tentacles.


More on the series of mini-figures, from Collin:

This eleventh series is composed entirely of female figures in mythical animal forms. They’re about 2 inches tall, with an additional heavy base for each figure, and they all come disassembled into about six or seven pieces each, which must be put together very delicately. Every figure comes in two different color schemes - a painted, full-color version, and a beige, statuesque version. New to this series is the option to display each figure with a human head, or an alternate scary animal head - revealing the duality of the nature of these shapely witches. Don’t be fooled, guys - it’s no fun to make out with a bird skull.

You can see nine more of them in at Collin's page in the CQ community.

For The Risqué Exhibit-ionist

A fascinating article on the Exhibit Supply Company, or ESCO shows us both the vintage risqué Exhibit cards and old risqué arcade amusements. These are just two examples:

Can You Tune-In Tokyo?

The old joke of tuning in Tokyo while pretending to adjust or tune a woman's nipples or breasts like knobs on an old radio set comes to life with this retro transistor radio.




A little sexy doll in a see-through babydoll nightie has her arms stretched over her head, accentuating and offering her bust -- which makes sense because her nipples are the dials. One is for tuning in stations, the other is for switching the radio on &/or off.

According to auction listings, she measures 11 1/2 inches tall, 6 inches wide.






While one is listed now, these radios are not super common. At least some of these radios were made by Windsor, but they must not have clear maker marks (or, quite unlikely, sellers neglect such details), so the best way to search for them is with nude doll radio, sexy transistor radio doll, and variations thereof (including misspellings).

The first one I'd ever seen was in rough shape and I've been watching (and saving photos) ever since.






In 6 months, I've only spotted 6 of them (and some sold over $50); so happy hunting.

UPDATE: 3/08/08

A blonde version of the doll -- and you can just make out the box, with its clear plastic window; but the seller has not identified the maker.

This Really Frosts My Cake

From this retro Magic in Frosting book comes this risque cake of a couple sharing a bed.


I bet this really 'frosted' those who pushed the 'marrieds in twin beds' philosophy.

Found via Planet Fabulon.

Of Monroe Doctrines

I don't usually bother with coins, but Derek's article on the new Monroe dollar reminds me of something:

This isn’t the first time Monroe has been on the obverse of a coin, although the first time around he had to share the honor with a friend: in 1923, the Mint commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine with a special half-dollar, with the heads of Monroe and his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams (who will appear on a dollar himself May 15th). It wasn’t actually the Mint’s idea for the commemorative dollar: the commemorative coin was part of an elaborate plan to clean up and improve the public image of the California film industry. 300,000 of the coins were minted at the San Francisco mint and distributed in California — they are relatively uncommon, but not unobtainably rare. Several have sold on eBay from $20 to $80, depending on condition.

From that link, regarding Monroe's first coin, I am reminded of jokes about the Monroe Doctrine. They've been the pun-ery and titular fodder for Hollywood-esque headlines involving Marilyn Monroe -- and as scathing comment on US politics. But before Marilyn, there was another Hollywood connection to James Monroe. Again from the coin article link, a bit of Hollywood history:

Scandals were beginning to severely tarnish the reputation of the studios’ stars and directors. Within only a few months director William Desmond Taylor was murdered under mysterious circumstances, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was indicted for the murder of a minor actress, and actor Wallace Reid died from a drug overdose. The studios responded by launching a public relations campaign that they hoped would help restore public confidence in the movie industry. Two committees were formed. One, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, developed over the next decade into a self-regulating censorship board. The other, the American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Historical Exposition, was a civic-minded organization whose public relations staff found it had little to promote.

Searching for a way to raise funds, the Historical Exposition decided that a commemorative coin would do the trick, and in the process would generate much-needed goodwill for the film industry. The only problem was there were no convenient centennial or jubilee celebrations that California could legitimately claim in 1923. The most obvious historic event correlating with 1923 was the 150th anniversary of the 1773 Boston Tea Party. But in 1773, California was a largely unpopulated province in the Spanish Empire with no connection to New England. This dilemma was finally resolved by Congressman Walter Lineberger. Introducing a bill to authorize the Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar, Lineberger reasoned that Monroe Doctrine prevented England, Spain, and Russia from claiming and occupying California. While this was nothing more than historical fiction, apparently Lineberger and his fellow representatives had little concern for such details. On January 24, 1923, legislation was passed authorizing the minting of no more than 300,000 Monroe Doctrine Centennial halves: the coins were to be struck at the San Francisco Mint and distributed by the studio’s Historical Exposition committee.

The front of the coin featured Monroe and his Secretary of State in 1823, John Quincy Adams; the back "in its final form is unquestionably one of the most unusual and daring design motifs ever placed on a U.S. coin.

In place of the relief maps of the continents, Beach substituted two female figures which were contorted into a rough approximation of the shape of each land mass. The North American figure holds a branch in her left hand in the area of northern Canada while extending a twig to South America through Central America with her right hand. The South American figure holds a cornucopia with her right arm. The major ocean currents of the Atlantic and Pacific are also included, and apparently represent the flow of goods between the two continents, unimpeded by the European powers. In the lower left reverse field the centennial dates 1823-1923 flank both sides of a scroll and quill, symbols clearly intended to suggest the Monroe Doctrine. Chester Beach’s initials are found near the reverse rim at the four o’clock position and the inscriptions MONROE DOCTRINE CENTENNIAL and LOS ANGELES encircle the border. Struck in low relief, the design overall is uninspiring. The reverse motifs are novel and would indicate a certain creativity on the part of Beach were it not for the fact that the draped female figures shaped as two continents were actually copyrighted in 1899 by artist Ralph Beck and used by Beach for the seal of the Pan-American Exposition of 1901.

The artist, more commonly known as Raphael Beck or A. Raphael Beck, did in fact create the clever female continent design. Beck's work, among over 400 submissions, was chosen as the official logo by the Pan-American Exposition Company for the expo in 1901 and official souvenirs, (silver spoon image via Sipler).



In other words, the deal with the first Monroe coin was to promote a more pure Hollywood -- with a completely fabricated story & a coin with appropriated art. Nice new image, Hollywood.

Related:

Complicated Women: Sex & Power in Pre-Code Hollywood

Pola Negri

Marilyn Monroe: All I Need Is This Doll

"Make Him Touch His Toes Boys!"

Vintage anti-Hitler propaganda piece.

I wonder if I can get made with W.

From juffrouwjo at Flickr, found via Hugo Strikes Back.

Star Strip Totally Nude Girls

The retro sign -- and club -- still survive. Via LA Seediness.

This would never float where I live -- or any of the places I've lived in for at least the past decade. City ordinances are tightening so fast on such 'loose morality' and 'public displays' that you can actually hear their ass cheeks squeak.

Of Secret Dolls

I've been resisting writing about this for weeks; but I can no longer stand it. Click here and scroll to the two dolls near the bottom...

"Scooba-Doo" is so insane I sorta dig her -- and her crazy black stockings. Yeah, I think she's a little inappropriate, but then get a load of this one:


The "Baby Secret" doll is in a category of its own.

Not only does the dressed in red Baby Secret doll say, "Hold me close and whisper!" but they stress that her lips move and that she can be put in any baby-like position. (My mind is seriously in the gutter.)

You're not the only one with a mind in the gutter... Every time I look at it, the words 'incest' & 'pedophile' scream in my head and I think, "It's the Daddy's Little Secret Doll."

Yeah, I know you're all getting ready to send those hate emails and offers for mental health help; but damn if I don't feel better for posting it and getting it out of my head.

Seeing these dolls, and knowing of adult dolls, including but not limited to blow-up dolls, and the fascination humans seem to have with dressing their dogs in clothes, I have to reconsider the purported history of dolls.

Perhaps dolls weren't really children's toys... or at least they didn't really begin that way. Look at the immense popularity of boudoir dolls, which were made for adults, not children. There are so many adults whose dolls, baby or fashion, completely out-number that of any pampered child. It makes me think that dolls are about some sense of control -- balanced with companionship, sure -- but ultimately it's the control. You dress it, pose it, order or alter it to your standards, and when you are done, you put it on a shelf, or drape it across your bed.

No wonder sex robots, including the desire to marry them, aren't considered far off.

Marilyn Chambers Collectible

Limited edition Marilyn Chambers Statue: Collectible 18 inch tall resin painted statue featuring sexy removable clothes and a highly detailed sculpt; pre-order for shipping Wednesday 30 April, 2008.

"The Dinner Party"

Tom Pain of Polyamorously Perverse discusses Judy Chicago's infamous The Dinner Party, an installation of ceramic plates and embroidered place mats intended to celebrate important historical and mythical women, complete with vulva plates:

I confess that when "The Dinner Party" first appeared, I was a bit shocked at the crudeness of its chosen metaphor. But over time, the project has grown on me, and seeing it for the first time in person reminded me why gender makes a difference in our appreciation of the world. C. has taught me how women are never free from the sexual pressure of objectification, whether taunts and catcalls on the street, or the never-ending reminders by the media how women are expected to look beautiful and be sexually-available to men at all times.

Read the rest here.

Nude Ladies To Light Up Your Life

This pair of antique nude lady wall sconces didn't sell, but maybe they'll be relisted. They are lovely; but out of my wallet's reach. Photos & info placed here for posterity.


The seller says:

Each one measures about 12" tall and extends away from the wall 6". This is an awesome pair featuring the most adorable little nude ladies sitting atop the sconces. The little lady figures measure 8 1/8" tall. These are in wonderful condition with no chips or cracks...only some paint flaking from age and normal use. These will require some kind of wall bracket for mounting, which I do not have.

I am unsure of the metal used...it's not soft like spelter, and too thick to be spelter too, so I'm thinking they must be made of iron, but I'm really not sure about that either. They are very heavy for their size, and each one weighs three and a half pounds. In any case, they're certainly beautiful and very unusual.

Nude & Wet Naps

6 Vintage Risque Linen Cocktail Napkins; each measure 9 1/4" x 5 3/4".

Butt Wonder

I spotted this old doctor's exam table in a thrift store of all places.


I couldn't help but wonder how many butts had sat on that table... It might be an icky thought, but it was also part of the appeal -- oh, if that table could talk!


How many legs were hoisted into the air above it... Yes, the rest of the metal stirrup parts were in one of the drawers; but did the doc ever get down & dirty on that exam table? Are stirrups standard issue -- were they when this old exam table was new?

:sigh: So many questions, not enough space. At least not enough for me to convince hubby we could get it -- of course my 'romantic' questions didn't exactly sell him either. *wink*

Retro Protest Cocktail Mixers

The 8 plastic swizzle sticks look like little picket signs & read:

Stamp Out Spanish Dancing

Raise The Wages Of Sin

Lower The Age Of Puberty

Unite Against Togetherness

Tax Free Love (most worn)

Re-Arm Venus De Milo

Integrate The Yellow Pages

Down With Literasy Tests

(Again, I didn't have the heart to type them in all caps, as printed.)

Straight out of the 60's, and mine all mine!

Related reading: Drunk On Collecting: Swizzle Sticks & Strange Ads & Drunk On Collecting Continues.

The World of Suzie Wrong

It's Christmas, 1962...

What are you going to give your daughters?

How about little racist brothel dolls?

Danger Soft Shoulders

Vintage Glamour Girls Travel Decals, with playful pinups and even more playful sayings:

* Dude Ranch Duds (crack through the graphic)
* Cuba Libra
* Maid in Manhattan (2)
* Shot of Scotch
* Danger Soft Shoulders(2)
* Sound Horn for Service (3) tear in one sleeve
* Stop Blowing Your Horn (2)
* Do Not Pick Wild Flowers
* Oh! Oh! Ohio, Miss America Decal
* Quiet Zone
* Apply Brakes
* Dealer's Choice

Go see the auction for better images in the slide show.

Because Your Pal Eddie Needs Them

Check out these vintage glasses -- the arms of the glasses are shaped like legs, with red high heels to tuck behind your ears, and the plastic lenses shaped like a behind.




Eddie always is looking for a lady who'll spread her legs thus for him -- he's always asking for just that when you're out clubbing. This is seriously the only way it will happen.

Of Chipies

My grandpa always used to call good-looking gals (the ones with nice gams) 'chipies'. I always thought this had something to do with the the term 'chicks' -- or, when older, 'birds' but apparently it is another animal altogether.

Chipie means "little minx" in French and I have Lochers.com to thank for that lesson.



And, of course, a larger gift wish list too, due to all the other cool stuff there. Like how about the I Love Porn shirt:



Thanks to Slip of a Girl and Angela for the new shopping addiction. I don't know if grandpa would approve... But what the hell, I'm a little minx.

Oscar's Wilde Waterworks, $169

Gay Monopoly (found at a garage sale for $1), copyright 1983, before AIDS became an inescapable issue for gay men (hence the bathhouses). Found (via Fabulon) at Flickr where you can move your mouse over the photo to see detailed notes.

A great find at a buck -- check eBay prices!

The Beauty of Constance Bennett

Thanks to Fabulon for this delightful video for Constance Bennett Cosmetics, featuring (who else?) but Constance Bennett in what can best be described as a kitschy pitch for faux glamour. (I'm not saying the stuff wasn't wonderful; but the vintage advertorial is hardly realistic -- which is just one reason I love it!)



Another reason to love this old promo clip is Constance herself.

Constance was the eldest of the three daughters born to stage matinee idol Richard Bennett and actress/literary agent Adrienne Morrison in 1904. The middle sister was the least known sister, Barbara; she had a brief bit of fame as a dancer but is most known as the mother of talk show host Morton Downey. The youngest sister was Joan, who also found great film success; both Constance and Joan were enormously popular in the 30's, featured on the covers and inside pages of the popular movie magazines.



While Constance was the oldest, sister Joan joked of her sister, "With all of Constance's juggling of dates over the years, I started out as the youngest, then became her twin and finally wound up as the oldest sister."

The Bennetts were every bit as distinguished and as spirited another theatrical family, the Barrymores, which they were friends with. Richard was famous for having battles with critics of the day, writing scathing letters not only when his his performances were panned but when they were praised too. In fact, the entire Bennett family was known for their arguments with the press and Constance and Joan were no exception.

Constance may have gotten her start in film in one of daddy's films, but it was clear that both her beauty and talent would allow her to shine in her own right. Constance would appear in 57 films, several of which are considered true film classics.



Standouts include George Cukor's What Price Hollywood? (a 1932 early version of A Star Is Born, with Bennett in the role later played by Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand), Topper (with Cary Grant in 1937) and the musical comedy Moulin Rouge (1934, in which Constance's singing voice is more than decent). Another fun film is Ladies in Love (1936), starring Janet Gaynor, Loretta Young, Don Ameche and Tyrone Power (in a small part which made him so popular that the studio groomed him for greater stardom). While this film doesn't exactly showcase Constance it is based on the play Three Girls by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete and the film's storyline would became studio standard, inspiring inspiring How to Marry a Millionaire (1953).

I urge you to watch whatever Constance Bennett films you can find -- just note that most of Contances' best work was done Pre-Code and that it looks like the icky code put the kibosh on her just as her star was rising. (Dammit!)

There are a number of sites which will list and review Bennett's films, so I'm going to dish on other matters, including, of course, her love life.

As mentioned, Constance Bennett, like the rest of her clan, feuded with the press and it is said that she 'enjoyed lawsuits'. Constance was never called "Connie" and was often described lovingly as "a steamroller" and a "headstrong girl" -- which might appear to be less than flattering, but it is quite apparent that Constance was intelligent, confident, determined and assertive. And all in a charming manner.

As her son, Peter Plant, said in an interview with Eve Golden (Films of the Golden Age, Issue No 11, Winter, 1997), "Today, a lot of people are horribly aggressive rather than pleasantly assertive." (Perhaps if you read the words "headstrong girl" and feel it is unattractive, you should ponder Plant's words.)


Also from that interview with Golden, titled The Public and Private Lives of Constance Bennett, is this bit on Constance regarding the cosmetic line and another failed business venture:

In the mid-1930s she developed her own line of cosmetics. As Plant says, "the cosmetics were a good, quality product, but at some point she gave someone a license or franchise for it, and he ended up putting nothing but lanoline in the jars, and it ruined the product." All that remains is a deliriously bizarre promotional short she made, which was released as Constance Bennett's Daily Beauty Rituals and shows up on TCM as filler once in a while. Constance also became involved in Fashion Frocks, "a dress line from the Midwest on which she put her name -- mail order dresses in women's magazines." That too failed. One of her drawbacks was that "she was very smart, but would not take advice -- she had a number of good advisors, but she had the idea that she was capable of doing things where she was in over her head."

Not taking advice, being headstrong, seems to have also had its up-side -- especially when dealing with studio heads.

While negotiating her contract with Warner Brothers, Constance insisted that Jack Warner pay both her agents fee and income tax along with a salary which would make her the highest-paid player up to that time ($300,000 for just two films).



Constance was also a highly skilled poker player -- one who was not just permitted to play in the "men only" games but most often won them too. It is said that when someone commented that Constance could not take her money with her, her father said, "If Constance can't take it with her, then she won't go."



You know the saying, 'lucky at cards, unlucky in love', well that might have been true for Constance. Or maybe she just loved to gamble; she was married five times.


First, in 1921, she eloped with Chester Hirst Moorehead (the son of a Chicago surgeon). Claiming that the marriage took place on a dare, she had the marriage annulled in 1923.

Next, in 1925 (the year her parents divorced), she eloped with millionaire socialite Philip Morgan Plant (son of Mrs. Mae Caldwell Manwaring Plant Hayward Rovensky and thus the adopted son of adopted son of steamship/railroad tycoon Morton F. Plant). When the couple divorced in 1929, Constance was awarded a $1 million settlement (consider this foreshadowing, folks).

In 1931 she made headlines when she married Henri le Bailly, the Marquis de La Coudraye de La Falaise (a French nobleman and film director who was one of Gloria Swanson's former husbands). About this time Constance brought back from Europe a three-year-old boy, Peter Bennett Plant, whom she said she'd adopted. Bennett and le Bailly founded Bennett Pictures Corp. and produced a couple of films. (Constance would also produce Paris Underground, released in 1945, for a total count of three films produced -- which is apparently how she makes it as a SIMPP member [Kindly disregard this info on the cosmetic & clothing companies; I'd believe the son over this info.]) Constance and the Marquis divorced in 1940.

In 1941, Constance married actor Gilbert Roland. Though Bennett and Roland would divorce in 1946, they would have two daughters: Lorinda (a sculptress) and Christina (aka Gyl Roland, an actress and image consultant). However when Philip Morgan Plant (husband number two) died in '41, a funny thing happened...

A large trust fund was established to benefit any descendants of Plant, and Constance went to battle saying that her adopted son, Peter Bennett Plant, actually was the natural child of both herself and the deceased Plant, born after the divorce and kept hidden in order to ensure that the child's biological father would not get custody. The story may sound a bit strange, but Constance won the claim for her son. According to Time in November of 1943:

Last week, when Plant's mother and his show-girl widow were fighting a court battle with Miss Bennett over the trust fund, she promised that if she got to the witness stand she would give a complete account of her life with Plant. The matter was settled out of court. Miss Bennett picked up her baggage and doll and returned to her theatrical mutton.

Later in 1946, the same year as her divorce from Roland, Constance married US Air Force Colonel John Theron Coulter (who would become later Brigadier General). They remained married until her death in 1965 and when Coulter passed in '95, he was buried beside her.


After her marriage to the colonel, Constance concentrated her efforts on the stage, radio and with providing relief entertainment to US troops (earning military honors for her services). She did return one last time to film in 1966's Madame X.

Playing Lana Turner's rich-bitch mother-in-law in the campy classic Constance looked frighteningly thin. This due to cancer, which no one but her immediate family knew about. Shortly after filming was completed, Bennett collapsed and died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 60. Madame X was released after her death.

In that 1997 interview, Plant this to say about his mother's work and her death:

"It was a grueling production experience," recalls Plant. "But my mother, knowing she would soon be gone, but being true to her profession, got through it fine."

"I'm sure her cancer was caused by smoking too bloody many Chesterfield cigarettes for too many years," says Plant, "and also due to taking massive injections of hormones in the 1950s to preserve her figure and make her appear younger than she was. I could name several of her female star peers who met the same fate pursuing their youthfulness."

Constance died on July 24, 1965, in the Watson Army Hospital in Fort Dix, New Jersey and as Eve Golden wrote:

By that time, Joan had surpassed her in reputation as an actress; Constance was recalled in her obituaries as more of a "glamor girl." Not long before she died, she said of her professional longevity, "If there's a secret to it, it's working like a beaver to be happy. What I mean is, I've always been interested in everything I did. When you're that interested in anything, you're happy.

I'm still interested in you, Constance. And I hope that makes us both happy.



For more on Constance Bennett, read The Bennett Playbill by Joan Bennett and The Bennetts: An Acting Family by Brian Kellow.

There's also a neat Constance Bennette thread at TMC.

Images of vintage movie magazines via www.classichollywoodbios.com.

Some other photos of Constance Bennett via venusnaturalis at Flickr and here.

Constance Bennett 1904 - 1965

If It's Greek To You...

If you'd like more help understanding ancient Grecian pottery? Such as this, the famous and controversial Middle Corinthian aryballos of Pyrrhias, excavated by Mary C. Roebuck from Temple Hill in 1954. (The aryballos is controversial as neither the painted scene nor the inscription mentions Apollo, but rather depicts a dancing competition.)

According to researchers Alexandra Pappas (University of Arkansas) and Robin Osborne (Cambridge University) the writing on pottery from ancient Athens, Corinth and Boeotia is performative in nature.

"The writing does more than produce a relationship between word and image which is intellectually satisfying," Pappas and Osborne wrote. "This is a vessel to be used in the very context of gymnastic performance that it illustrates, a vessel whose use involves exactly the turning up and turning back that is performed and encouraged by the text. The cleverness of the text, and with it the prowess of Pyrwias himself, is put on display in particular when the aryballos is put into use."

Pappas and Osborne are co-authors of "Writing on Archaic Greek Pottery," a chapter in Inscribing Images, Illustrating Texts: Art and Inscriptions in the Ancient World, edited by Zahra Newby and Ruth Leader-Newby and published by Cambridge University Press in 2007.

No word on what the dirty text on nude pottery works was like. *wink*

For more, see Writing Was Performance Art on Archaic Greek Pottery.

This Just In: I'm A Vulgar Broad

Typically in my business the question is, "Porn or Art?" but today the question is "Vulgarism or Art?"

Titled: "Struggling Will Only Make It Worse"

According to David Report, which claims to be knowledgeable on "the intersection of design, culture and business life", this is Vulgarism.

Our opinion is that the last couple of years have been poor in offering interesting and clever design. The kind of design that really makes a difference.

...An adequate question to highlight is if we should call it design, art or design-art or if we have to invent a new category and word for these experiments. Some people call it neo-surrealism or expressionism-design, but we would prefer to refer to it as Vulgarism.

(So much for the "creative and humanistic approach" at the David Report.)

"We’re hoping he’ll grow out of it" from the Noir Collection by Barnaby Barford.

While the David Report and the round-up of experts find this design trend crass and kitsch, I saw the images used to illustrate Vulgarism as a shopping list. Sure, the lack of image credits made it more difficult, but all I needed was the words 'Barnaby' and 'chandelier' and I was in business. From there I was able to find heaven -- the website of artist Barnaby Barford (who, by the way, I would not throw out of bed for eating crackers -- and not just for his artistic ability either, he's hot).


According to the site with the sexy photos of the artist, he:

re-assemble pieces of a historic and modern ‘kitsch’ production and put them as artwork into a new context. those pieces often possess a dark sense of humour. in barnaby’s work the titles are an important part of it, making an inroad to the piece and sometimes giving a totally unexpected viewpoint. the ceramic or porcellain pieces by barnaby barford are made by either painting on or cutting up the found figurines and re-assembling them together providing a clever way of getting people to look again at something they would on principle have dismissed. the way they are put together forces you to look at the figures and the scene in a slightly disrupted way. a new conglomerate is the result, a reworking of tradition that leaves it recognisable but witty, ... edited.

I agree, the titles of the works add to the overall appeal of the works.

"Oh, I thought it would be bigger"

(I do so enjoy a bit of humor with my body parts -- Barford's growing sexier by the minute!)

Title: "Mum! The cat's doing that thing again"

Barford's works have been shown in Domestic Deities:The Figurine in Art, a group exhibit at the Clark Garth Gallery:

Domestic Deities: The Figurine in Art examines this fascinating niche-genre within figurative sculpture today, exploring conflicting values in class and aesthetics. Porcelain figurines from the 18th century provided a domesticated figurative sculpture for the court at the hands of gifted sculptors like Meissen's Johann Joachim Kändler and Nymphenburg's Franz Anton Bustelli. They were costly objects, crafted with exquisite detail and care. By comparison, the figurine today, with a few high-end exceptions like the sugary but svelte works from Lladro, has become populist; a dime-store product, cloying and sentimental expression of kitsch. Collections of antique figurines are valued and reflect discernment, but contemporary figurines, often produced by Disney and others as promotional devices, are dismissed as poor taste. It is exactly this contrasting polarity between the palace and the cottage, between refinement and vulgarity, between respectability and dismissal that makes this genre such a rich human landscape to explore, satirize and transform.

Front and back of "I wish I were Hugh Hefner."

Hasn't virtually every form of 'new' art been questioned, called vulgar? From painting to ballet, it's all been called that -- and worse.

Vulgar or not, I want.

You Say It, But You Don't Mean It

As noted before, the Internet isn't always the boon it's said to be for collectors. Too often people post items -- even those for sale -- and they think the photo will do all the talking; but in this digital world where pixel power is extraordinary, text is required.

When sellers offer items and do not use the appropriate words items will not be found. As is the case with this ignorant seller of this ashray:



The auction title is "Vintage Risque' Novelty Ashtray Hen & Rooster - Shiny" and in the description they say, "This irridescent finish sweetheart features a rooster chasing a hen and a saying "It's Business I'm After" in the bed of the ashtray."

Clearly the 'shiny' and 'iridescent finish' they are referring to is lusterware, but no collector of lusterware is going to know of this item (unless they are also searching, literally, for 'risque' &/or 'chicken' items. And as they tire of looking at all the items which are not lusterware, well, the auction clock ticks and there are few, if any, bids.

If it is business you're after, then please know your business. Know the words to use and use them.

Pretty Nude Ladies Under Glass

From a Flickr set of Looiersgracht Flea Market in Amsterdam.

I want.

Rear End Strip Club Sign

Pop Tart spies The Rear End Club Sign and I'm in love with it.

Prostitution Signs

A 1941 Las Vegas hotel sign (via Answers.com).

I have a few of these signs, most are original (and packed away right now), but I do have this reproduction of a New Orleans sign out in my front foyer:



You can buy a Beware Pickpockets and Loose Women sign here.

Men, It's Not The Size Of Your Club But Your Willingness To Share It Which Matters

First of all, I know you've all seen this, so I'm not presenting this Giant Homer Simpson Freaks Out English Countryside as 'news'. (Shocking idea isn't it, the notion that I, a lady bent on vintage porn, historical erotica and sexual history, were to present 'news'?!)

When I first saw this image I guessed it was photoshopped -- or at best a juxtaposition of two images -- an amusing artist rendering for the Wordless Wednesday meme, or other commentary on the cultural division between the young, immature, commercial, crass US and the old, steeped-in-antiquity, classy Brits.

In a way, the article proves my point.

In merry old England, a donut proffering man in his undies is more offensive than a nude man with well-defined, slightly exaggerated genitalia.

The English -- hell, not just English folks, but pagan English folks are outraged by "this darn great eyesore" that is Homer Simpson. In the USA pagan outrage is rather the definition of the moral way, the way things should be here in our God fearing country. Pagans are the ones who would (or would be accused of) putting on grand display human nudity -- and conservatives would freak out.

In fact, the very remedy for nude artwork might be to cover it up with something else... And if a company is willing to pay the expense, well, let it be a logo! (You know, it really wouldn't take much effort to turn the Cerne Abbas Giant into Homer. With just a few additional lines the giant's penis could easily become a pair of Y-fronted undies.)

While we can only guess as to what the nude giant hillfigure means, what he stands (erect) for, most guess he is a tribute to masculinity. For hundreds of years it was custom to erect a maypole within the hillfigure (one can imagine where) and childless couples would dance to promote fertility. They say that childless couples try to get as close as they can get to the giant (being a National Trust, it's the bottom of the hill) to have blessed sex and conceive. And English girls visit the old naked man, praying not to become 'old maids.'

Which makes me think that, in all reality, Homer and the Cerne Abbas Giant are very much the same.

The giant has his great physical prowess noted in his large attributes, his two big clubs if you will. He is both hunter & provider in terms of both food and sex. He is the male virility required for species survival.

Today, Homer represents our version of male virility. He has one small hidden (beneath fat and underpants) penis -- but then we know it needn't be so large to do the trick, and as proof he has three offspring. His other club is the donut. A freakishly large donut that, as he stands there in bloody England, he is willing to share. Homer too can be counted on for our species survival.

Certainly most US girls pray they won't play Marge to their own future Homer husbands. But on the other hand, there are worse things a girl could do.

If the promotional chalk Homer could survive to be 'discovered' by scholars centuries into the future, I'm sure they'd draw similar conclusions. (At least if they had as much knowledge of us here in 2007 as we do about folks in the 17th century.) Then again, what do I know?

Well, I do know that the pop culture figure is not only more well known here in the US, but more likely to remain so than the Cerne Abbas Giant -- even if the giant has been carved into the natural chalk earth and is centuries old. After the promotional chalk has washed away, Homer the character will certainly continue to exist for us. Yet even just a year from now, the ancient "aroused, club-wielding man" likely won't even have become a trivia question.

Views On Vintage Nudes

Over at Collectors' Quest, Deanna's posted an interview with artists who repurpose/recycle vintage items. One of those interviewed was Tia of Hey Lady! Recycled Cards, who has used vintage pinups and nude photos to make her cards.



While the cards are neat, I'm still a bit torn about using the actual old photos/images themselves...


However, since I was Etsy anyway, I did a quick search for the word 'nude' and this is some of what I found:

Nude with striped socks.
Nudes embracing.
Vintage nude necklace.
Nude male torso.
French doll bag.
Boobie earrings.

Some of these are also made with actual vintage images...



Now that I've shown you some images, please do tell: What are your thoughts on recycling old images?

Look For SPS!

I registered (finally) at CQ's community. Since this is for mainstream folks, I kept it rather tame and so far have just posted some of my feminist buttons and bumper stickers. I'm too tired to do any more than that, but will get to my books as soon as I can.

If you join (and it is free), look for sps and feel free to make me your 'buddy' and send me a message.

A-Sordid Barbie Facts

In Mondo Barbie I read about the boys who had more than sex fantasies of Barbie (apparently, it's not restricted to adolescent boys), and I've got a female cousin who admitted to using Barbie as a dildo for her masturbatory pleasure, so I'm not easily shocked by what the dolls have been used for. But I was surprised that the doll once had nipples.


I should be surprised that moms were outraged and demanded Mattel remove them -- but I'm not. :sigh:

Via KKC.

See also, The Top 10 Reasons Why Barbie Is Like an Uber Model and A Doll's House: Barbie Revisited.

Cars & Babes

Pretty pink cars, and other things, once marketed to women.



For more on cars and babes, see this online gallery.

Vintage Nude Plaster Figure

From my own collection, a vintage plaster (or chalkware) piece. A nude 'exotic' lady dances in the fire at her feet. She's large, standing 17 inches tall.


I love that her arms and hands are raised above her head and in hair, which sort of mirrors the flames.

Her 'skirt' is made of string fringe -- in the photo I twisted it, normally she's modest. *wink*

She was once broken and repaired, near her knees, but other than that she's in lovely shape.

She has no markings for maker, year etc. So I know nothing about her... If you do, please tell. I'd love to find out there is a series of these nude figurines.

After You, My Dear Alphonse

I love it when a unique item on eBay makes me do a search and I discover pieces of a puzzle...


This old German porcelain (or ceramic) piece features three figures: a woman in bed, and two men who, as the seller says, appear to be "in the process of deciding who will be the first to "visit" the young lady in her bed for whatever pleasure may result from such visit."



The seller also says, "I dont ever remember having a similar piece in all the years I have spent in the Antique business." While one can be skeptical with seller statements -- they are at least relative to their own experience -- I'd have to agree. (Hence my researching.)

A quick search for "After you my dear Alphonse" one gets quite a number of clues, including old vaudeville skits by the Marx Brothers, but what one finally gets is Frederick Burr Opper and his comic strip, "Alphonse and Gaston".


Introduced in 1901, they remained part of the Sunday comics for years. In this strip, two French characters are so polite they are stymied when they reach a door, each offering the other entry first with what would become, at the time, quite famous lines:

"After you, my dear Alphonse."

"No, after you, my dear Gaston."


The strip pretty much vanished after 1910, but the characters continued to live on in Happy Hooligan, where they ran their bit best as a sideline rather than the lead through the 40's.

You can find remnants of Alphonse and Gaston in the Chip and Dale Mack and Tosh*, aka the Goofy Gophers, politeness, as well as other standards bits, like like two baseball outfielders each deferring to the other and letting the ball fall between them. Which brings us back to our German figurine.

Two men who likely will be so polite to defer to one another, while the lady falls asleep. *wink*


The seller says this is an "OLD VICTORIAN era GERMAN group figurine," which is rather close to the time frame -- give or take a handful of years.

Find more on Frederick Burr Opper and Alphonse and Gaston here. See Alphonse and Gaston pinbacks here. See/download a film from 1903, and see a photo from 1912-1931 from the Whitman Theatre.

* Note -- UPDATE -- Peter corrected me on the Chip & Dale thing. See comments!

Live A Plush Sex Life

"These cuddly cloth dolls are great for playtime and can also be used as sex education props when explaining the human reproductive cycle to boys and girls ages 3 to 9." Amamanta Family Dolls



Found at Sensible Erection, apparently the image was saved on their pc and they have no information... If you know anything about this doll or others like it, please do let me know!



The maker of the Fetus Popple says, "I made this 3 years ago for Embryology class, and I was inspired by the Knitted Digestive System to post it here. The concept is ripped off of Popples, those vaguely mammalian stuffed toys that 20-somethings might remember; they could turn inside-out with a little pouch-thing on their back, so that all you could see is their tail sticking out of a little ball. I thought the gimmic would be a useful way of illustrating the various pouch-within-a-pouch structure of fetal membranes."





More plush sex dolls, note the strange proportions?



Quasi related, these stuffed tampon dolls. (I link to Slip's post as the vendor appears to be out of them now.)

Where There's Smoke...

There's an ashtray.

Only I didn't know it then.

About two years ago we bought this metal piece. It looked like a mold of some sort, each side protruding, quite detailed, showing a man putting his hand up a lady's skirt.


It has clearly, roughly, been hacked-out of something...



We wondered if it was a candy mold, or if it was the mold for some other piece.

Then a few weeks ago, I spotted this two-sided ashtray on eBay and won the auction (less than $7).



Though the dimensions listed were/are roughly the same, this ceramic piece is slightly different. The details are not as crisp, as fine, and there are enough variations in faces and attire that even before I received it I knew it wasn't made from our metal piece. But it was clearly related and I wanted a closer look.

Not long after that, Gloria had her spectacular posts on erotic tobacciana, and in one post I spotted what looked just like our metal piece.



I emailed Gloria and she said she's owned that 'model' ashtray before (and given it away to a friend) and that she spots them relatively often. She helped me with a few search terms (risque ashtray works nicely), and since then I've seen a few other variations.





Including this sailor theme.



And one that looks a bit older (with a much different shape to the ashtray).




While I am still not certain if what we have is an ashtray with the 'art' crudely cut out or if it is a mold (because ours seems unmarked from cigs like the other metal ones), I am hoping a metal ashtray in this design comes my way soon so that I can compare them better.

Sex Machine Museum

Prague is home to the first ever museum dedicated to sex machines. The Sex Machine Museum is located at Melantrichova 18, Prague 1, Old Town -- just off the Old Town Square in the heart of the old town.



A result of founder and owner Oriano Bizzochi's curiosity and research, the collection was first intended for the Museum of Curiosities (in the San Marino republic).

It is an exposition of mechanical erotic appliances, the purpose of which is to bring pleasure and allow extraordinary and unusual positions during intercourse.

On an area of three floors there are more than 200 objects and mechanical appliances on view, a gallery of art with erotic themes, a cinema with old erotic films, erotic clothing and many other things pertaining to human sexuality.

Here a very complicated sex machine is shown -- and below that, what it looks like in use.




Here's a sampling of some of the old sex toys, for men and women.




These hand-cranked masturbation tools (Germany, 1910) seem not only like more work than just using your hands directly, but more suited to the wood work shop. Sure, they're early hand-operated vibrators but they look more like drills to me...



Not everything on display is of a pro-sex nature. For example, this Electric Anti-Masturbation Machine (France, 1915) was used to prevent boys from nighttime delights.



The ring was placed on his penis and if/when an erection was achieved the machine rang a bell in the parent's room. Mortifying for all I'm sure, but less punitive than what it looks like -- I thought it might give the boy a shock.

Here, a tourist recounts the trip to the museum with her father:

"I see," my father said from somewhere behind me. "You're going to pretend you're not with me!"

"You're my Dad--I love you!" I shouted sprinting upstairs to get to the third floor ahead of him. "Now stop talking to me you strange, strange man!"

Too funny ;)

If you continue reading her story, here's a photo of the wall of body piercings mentioned in the story:



Images via ahsoon.net -- more photos there!

For more on sex machines and toys: 1997 video of webcams and Dildonics, (via Fleshbot).

Fun With Dolls & A Camera

Sex Doll Polaroids, from Alta-Glamour:

Dolls, realistic human forms, lend themselves to sexual alterations. Probably as long as there have been dolls, there has been the clever little brother or sister who thought they would look better with realistic genitalia. Clay, woodwork, sewing, drilling, and painting – the materials and methods are limited only by the ingenuity and patience of the artist.

Alta-Glamour recently unearthed these anonymous Polaroid photographs. The photo sets feature commercially-available dolls with added genitalia. The maker has set up tableaus and made photographic series that tell stories of straight, gay, and group scenes. We have not definitively dated them, but they are probably from the 1970s.

The quality of some photographs is not very good. Some of them were originally out of focus, and the colors of others have faded. However, the exuberance of the maker shines through it still.

Speaking of posing sex dolls...

A giant blow-up lizard gets it on with a blow-up doll.


I guess you're never to old to play with dolls, even if you never penetrate them yourself (nor they you).

Homosexuality Closeted In Historical Museum Exhibit

John Addington Symonds opened his landmark 1883 book A Problem in Greek Ethics by warning his fellow Victorians, "To ignore paiderastia is to neglect one of the features by which Greek civilisation was most sharply distinguished."

Now, 124 years later, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is still guilty of that neglect. Their astonishing new Greek and Roman Galleries reopened last Friday, and after four visits we’re left astonished that no where do they mention homosexuality. Although the cases are full of drawings depicting males together, often nude or half-clad, drinking wine side by side in bed, oiling each other up at the gym, the display cards never acknowledge the widespread same-sex relationships that other museums tell their visitors were considered "honorable." Whenever Carlos Picon and his fellow curators have an opportunity with this topic to illuminate and educate, they look away and abandon their visitors to silence. In their descriptions of thousands of images on ancient pottery, they have whitewashed homosexuality out of history.

From Erasing History at the Met at Band of Thebes (which is authored by Stephen Bottum and is most worthy of a nod all on its own -- and so has been added to the sidebar).

Amazing that Zeus cannot be shown with Ganymede, but Zeus as a swan can be in bestial (sexual) repose with Leda. And how can Sappho be 'de-sexed' as Bottum states? Sure, she had many human interactions which were not sexual, but to remove the aspect of sexuality for which we have the term Sapphic Love is rather insane.

Ah, but that's the point -- homophobia is insane.

Photo: From the Gay City News reprint of 's article.

Dirty Dishes

I don't often link to new things, but I'm utterly smitten with this set of dishes:




Made by fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, this pattern features scantily clad women reclining on plates, bowls, cups and mugs.

(Bonus points for the tag line, "Some dishes are meant to be dirty.")

You can buy them at the designer's website and at Fishs Eddy.

Of Nudes and Swans

One often sees images of nude women with swans.

Vintage German photo of nude and swan, circa 1910.

Limoges Leda and Swan figurine, circa 1925.

Sleeping Swan, by Michael Parkes.

Often the images seem soft and romantic, dreamy. Other times they are artistic; a sensual play between skin and feathers.

Nude woman and swan titled,"Leda and the Swan," drawn by A Juredaz.

But there's more to the story.

Leda and the Swan is a motif from Greek mythology, in which Zeus (Jupiter) took the form of a swan and raped Leda on the same night she slept with her husband, King Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. (Of course Zeus had to be a swan; as a member of the Anatidae family it's one of the few birds that possess a penis.)

The motif was rarely seen in the art of antiquity, but emerged in the Italian Renaissance as a combination of a classic theme and erotica. Using the classic Greek myth exploring sex was possible as long as it was bestiality, yet explicit sex between humans was far too inappropriate.

There are many variations depicting Leda in sexual acts with the swan: love-making, copulation, beak/mouth penetration, and rape.

The earliest known explicit Renaissance depiction is a woodcut illustration in Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, published in Venice in 1499.

Ammanati's marble statue (1500s).

Marble sarcophagus from Heraklion Museum (Crete)

Engraving, early C16, Giulio Campagnola.

Marble sarcophagus from Pergamon Museum (Berlin)

Leda and Swan, Maurice Ferray, marble, onyx & bronze, 1898-199

Gustave Moreau: Leda and the Swan, 1865-1875.

Leda and the swan, Scindia Museum, Gwalior, India

In 1928 William Butler Yeats published his poem, Leda And The Swan.

A sudden blow: the great wings beating still
Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,
He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers push
The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?
And how can body, laid in that white rush,
But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?

A shudder in the loins engenders there
The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
And Agamemnon dead.

Being so caught up,
So mastered by the brute blood of the air
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?

Yeats' poem is often discussed and debated.

I particularly like this discussion of Yeats' poem in terms of rape:

In 'Leda and the Swan', the issue that causes heartburn in many modern critics
is not the fact that the theme is a rape, but that Yeats seems to
1. glorify the power and sensuality of the rapist - "the feathered glory".
2. accede to the (male) belief that 'women love a bit of force' - "And how can
body, laid in that white rush / But feel the strange heart beating where it
lies?"
3. use the rape as a starting point for historical and cultural inspiration -
"his knowledge with his power".

Of course, it must also be said that Yeats at least tries to represent Leda's
state of mind - "those terrified vague fingers"; compare Spenser:

'Whiles the proud Bird ruffing his fethers wyde,
And brushing his faire brest, did her inuade;
She slept, yet twixt her eyelids closely spyde,
How towards her he rusht, and smiled at his pryde.'

(This same link also refers the question of what "feminist critic" means.)

There's even large debate over Yeats' intentions with his poem. Apparently Yeats had desired a political poem. As proof, see this passage from "Pornography and Canonicity: The Case of Yeats' Leda and the Swan," and essay in Representing Women: Law, Literature, and Feminism, pages 165-87:

According to Yeats, the poem was inspired by a meditation on the Irish situation in relation to world politics. The first version was finished at Coole in September 1923, in the atmosphere of political instability resulting from the Irish Civil War. Yeats told Lady Gregory of "his long belief that the reign of democracy is over for the present, and in reaction there will be violent government from above, as no in Russia, and is beginning here. It is the thought of this force coming into the world that he is expressing in his Leda poem." The swan-god, it seems, originated as a "rough beast," an unlikely amalgam of Lenin and President Cosgrave, subduing the anarchic masses personified by Leda; but Yeats insisted that, "as I wrote, a bird and lady took such possession of the scene that all politics went out of it, and my friend tells me that his `conservative readers would misunderstand the poem.'" All politics did not evaporate in the alchemy of the creative process, however: class politics were overshadowed though not entirely effaced by the politics of sexuality.

Ah, politics and sex. Gotta love that combination.

As long as I'm quoting... More from those same pages:

Yeats knew that his name and become a byword for paganism, anti-Catholicism, opposition to Gaelic culture, and snobbery. . . .

"Leda and the Swan" can thus be read as an aristocratic liberal intervention in the cultural debate about post-Treaty Irish identity, an insistence that in bringing to birth a new, independent Ireland, "love is a lustier sire than law." Was Ireland to become, as Yeats wished, "a modern, tolerant, liberal nation," free to deploy the resources of classical mythology and to admire naked Greek statuary; or was it to surrender to the obscurantism of the clergy, soon to be reified in the legislation of the new state? Sexuality, bodies, and their representations occupy center stage in this ideological struggle. The Swan, originating in Yeats'' mind as an image of the violent imposition of the law, ironically comes to symbolize all those desires the censors found threatening: in the context of the poem's reception its brutal energy represents the forces of sexual liberation. . . .

The Greek mythology itself was conflicting about the aspect of rape. Was this seduction, god allowed trickery? Was it violent rape? Is her submission to be expected because she's a mortal? Or did she enjoy it?

The subject of rape vs. seduction and Leda's participation level (enjoyment) is often part of the art too.

In Leda and the Swan, by George O' Connel Leda is rides the swan seemingly unaware of the consequences of will follow. (1973, Lithograph on woven paper), Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia.

In this engraving on paper by Cornelis Bos (ca. 1536-1540), one copied from a painting that Michelangelo completed for the Due Alfonso of Ferrara but did not deliver because he was insulted by the Duke's agent -- or possibly because he was not sure the painting was appropriate, Leda is rather masculine and very sexual. There is no resisting the swan's advance.

There are many imaginations of Leda and Zeus the swan...

Salvador Dali, Lena & Swan.

Petrus Paul Rubens, Leda and the Swan, oil on canvas. Flemish, 1601-2.

Vladimir Suchanek, Prague, color lithograph.

Carlos Cartagena pinup, 1995.

Leda and the Swan (sixteenth century), Paolo Veronese.

Early Georgian period heavy gold ring, 15ct gold (by test) and with a gorgeous hand carved bezel and shank surround in a continuing pattern of dense flowers. The intaglio, classified as an "erotic" intaglio shows a nude Leda with her swan suitor, the God Zeus.

Neon lighted sign, outside German hotel.

Leda and the swan mosaic from a Roman house in Paphos, Cyprus, late 2nd century CE. London, British Museum.

Leda: In Praise of the Blessings of Darkness, Pierre Louys, University of Georgia.

Leda and the swan and Castor and Polydeuces, Clytemnestra and Helen; (Leonardo da Vinci [1452-1519] Collection, Rome

MEERSCHAUM GERMAN PIPE-bought in Germany at end of WW 1 by consignor's grandfather. Highly carved with Leda & the Swan. Bakalite stem, leather case. Carl Hiess, Wien, Graben printed on case.

Oil on canvas, Paul Tillier (1834-1915).

Leda and the Swan, bronze, Roman Imperial, circa 1st Century A.D., 5 13/16 inches high.

Nazi art, Leda and Swan.

Modern Leda & Swan, likely by Hilary Pollock.

The story of Leda doesn't end with that one night...

Being a god means that Zeus is going to impregnant her -- immortal sperm, and all that. Of course, she was also with her husband, Tyndareus.

From this one night we have several children, which typically hatch from eggs, and several versions of the children's parentage. In some Leda bore/hatched Helen (of Troy) and Clytemnestra, children of Zeus, and at the same time bearing Castor (Kaster) and Pollux (Polydeuces), children of Tyndareus. In others, Castor's father was Tyndareus and Pollux's father was the Greek god Zeus resulting in twins where Castor was mortal and Pollux, being the son of a mythological god, was immortal.

Further confusion continues as Castor & Pollux are sometimes both mortal, sometimes both divine. One consistent point seems to be that if only one of them is immortal, it is Pollux. In Homer's Iliad, Helen looks down from the walls of Troy and wonders why she does not see her brothers among the Achaeans and the narrator says that both are already dead and buried back in their homeland (Lacedaemon), suggesting that at least in some early traditions, both were mortal.

Mortal or not, Castor and Pollux are the twins known as Gemini, including the constellation.

Leda's daughter Helen becomes Helen of Troy, the most beautiful mortal. At least in some versions. There are others which say that the Helen of Troy is the daughter of Zeus and the goddess Nemesis. Adding to the confusion, there is even one story where both Leda and Nemesis have contact with the egg which is to be Helen.

One story comes from one of the Cyclic Epics, Cypria (generally thought to preserve traditions that date back to at least the 7th century BC). In Cypria, Nemesis did not want to mate with Zeus and so she changed into various animals forms in attempts to avoid Zeus. Eventually Nemisis becomes a goose and Zeus, also transformed as a goose, mates with her. In this story it is Nemesis who produces the egg from which the Helen (of Troy) hatches.

In some of these stories, this egg, before hatching, is found by a shepherd. He gives the the egg to Leda to protect. Leda does and when the egg hatches, she is so enamored with the baby girl (Helen) that she raises her as her daughter. In the 5th century comedy Nemesis (by Cratinus) Leda is told to sit on an egg so that it would hatch, but there is no doubt the egg is Nemesis' (and that the Helen who hatches has Nemesis as her biological mother).

It is also interesting to note that in stories in which Helen is Leda's daughter, the sex with Zeus is not depeicted as rape. For example, in Euripides' play Helen (late 5th century BC), it says that Zeus, in the form of a swan, was chased by an eagle and sought refuge with Leda. The swan gained her affection and the two mated. Leda later then produced an egg from which Helen was born.

Apparently such beauty as helen's cannot be so tainted as to have been concieved in rape.

But back to Leda.

There has only been one coin minted with the myth of Leda and the swan. It is on the reverse of this coin with the bust of Severus Alexander (222-235 A.D.).


However, Leda and swan are on reverse of a bronze medal of Faustina the Roman. Faustina herself is interesting -- she was 'a courtesan celebrated by Joachim du Bellay, who was in Rome from 1553 to 1558, and possibly identical with the Faustina who excited the passion of Brantôme.' The legend may be completed as Favstina ro(mana) o(mnium) p(ulcherrima), or the Roman Faustina, of every beauty.

The reverse also has the legend si Iovi.quid homini which implies if Jove does this, what of men? (The Roman name for Zeus was Jupiter or Jove.)



In 1964, Kurt Kren made the film 7/64: Leda mit dem Schwan. At IMDB one reviewer says:

"Based on the poem by Yeats called also "Leda and the Swan" it features some unforgettable and disturbing imagery. We see Leonardo,who grates a large cucumber over Leda with a grater,squashes 10 tomatoes and cracks 5 eggs on her.He places a bottle containing a rose between her legs.Then he scatters bread-crumbs and coffee powder over her.Leda sets her upper body upright and draws in one leg.Leonardo places a large,uninflated plastic swan between her legs and so on.Unquestionably bizarre and edited very fast,"Leda and the Swan" is among the best short films made by infamous Viennese Aktionists.7 out of 10."

I don't even know how to follow that up.

If all these Leda and Swan images weren't enough for you, try here.

For a somewhat strange (definitely kitschy) version of Leda and the swan shown with fashion dolls, go here.

Mondo Exploitation Advertising

Another print block, measuring 8.25 x 3.5 inches; this one is for exploitation film features called MondoRama.


I had 'the tech guy' (the husband) once again monkey with Photoshop to create what the paper print would look like.


It's pretty clear that this is an ad, likely from a newspaper, promoting the Mondo Rama film triple-feature.

The text reads:

203 Minutes Of The Most Incredible Scenes Ever Recorded On Film

Mondorama

All In Raw Color!

SEE

Bloody German Duels

Black Magic In London

Human Pin Cushion

ECCO

In Technicolor

Erotica of the East

Exposes Odd Customs

TABOOS Of The World

Color

Tattooed Virgins

Male Geisha Girls

MACABRO

African Love School

Technicolor

SEE THE WORLD in the RAW
Overpowering, fascinating -- often shocking!

What little I know about the films themselves is the following:

ECCO is Italian for Look! And a review of the film, along with more information on Mondo films, is available at DVD Drive-In.

Here's the film's trailer:



Marv Miller, television's The Millionaire, went on to narrate Macabro in 1966 (and then began cranking out porno movies). Via Something Weird Video.

Also at Something Weird, Taboos of the World is part of the Twisted Sex Volume 13 DVD.

Crafting Answers To The Madonna-Whore Complex

An interview with Whitney Lee, the textile artist of Made With Sweet Love:

Like the rest of us kids who made latch hook rugs, you grew up. You're now in your late 20's, a professional photographer, but you came back to the rugs. What made you take on the images, the issues, with the rugs?

360 Degree Spin Rugs by Whitney Lee Like it says in my bio, I am the product of piles of women’s studies and feminist art classes. I can look at almost any image of a woman (especially one from a magazine!) and tell you how she is being objectified, how the lighting, pose, make-up, and airbrush are giving the model a look that is impossible to achieve, and how that makes real women constantly feel physically inadequate. I can talk about 'male gaze' and how images of sexy women make it seem like the entire female gender is one-dimensional and simply waiting for sex.

If you wanted to encourage public conversations about beauty from a feminist point of view why not use your profession, photography? Why use the rugs?

As a handmade artworks the rugs are to provoke a reaction against mass-production and consumerism, and I was interested in pointing out the dichotomy between a crafty, 'motherly' type woman and a sexually confident 'slutty' woman. In our society it is nearly impossible for a woman to be both types, but the two should be -- do -- coexist.

Kitschy Nudies

Lots of kitschy nude items closing today, if you're into the cheesier side of risque collectibles, including handmade ceramics.

More Racist Sex 'Humor'

This time I don't have the paper but the print block -- since there were obviously less print blocks than the paper the imprints ran on, it's rather rare, but I still wish I had a print copy of this to go with it.



Here's a digital rendering of what the print looks like:



The text reads, "Just and Old Hindu Custom!" ...as the snake charmer charms his own genitalia.

Antique Sapphic Vase

I so would have
bid on this at the auction -- she's lucky I wasn't there!

Look at all the lovely ladies! I too wouldn't fault the chips and paint flakes on this old chalk piece.

Hughes In Vegas

This isn't so much about 'sex' as most posts are... But I have a fascination with Howard Hughes, so I must mention this online exhibit of Hughes at UNLV libraries.

As to be expected, there's quite a bit of info on Hughes and the hotels in Vegas.

Panty Propaganda

This old novelty pin features bloomers or panties promoting WWII anti-Japanese sentiments. Small, 3 by 3.5 inches, but with a large emotional wallop, the pin is made of paper and cardboard and a red ribbon attached to a pin. Slogan reads, "Shoot the pants of the Japs."



For more modern panty propaganda, Slip of a Girl has the following goods:

Intimate apparel from Down Under.

Political Panty Power.

Using lingerie parties to preach & convert.

Also see:

Axis of Eve where they even have a Minister of Panty Propaganda who organizes panty protests.

Sexy Smoking Stuff

Why and how did sex and tobacco become so closely intertwined in pop culture? I'll look forward to readers speculating on that one. Me, I'm just a simple researcher, and today I'm sharing the results of my strange voyage into the world of erotic tobacciana.

This will be split into three parts: Ashtrays, Tobacco Cards and Labels, and finally Pipes, Lighters and Miscellaneous.

From Sex and Cigarettes, part of Gloria's Erotic Art Friday series. (Which you know I love.)

If I had to guess why about connection, past my earlier babblings, I'd say that smoking is an adult passion -- not for the kiddies (well, at least not any longer -- now kids can't even see a smoking cartoon character).

It's a drug which affects mood and that must account for some of it... And tobacco is a luxury. Even before the taxes and current prices, tobacco has always been prized and honored; even used in religious ceremonies.

I'd guess that the more you loved and valued your tobacco, the more you'd want lovely valuable places to hold and use it. It would seem natural for humans to want to create art on the objects which were affiliated with smoking, and the nude female form and other elements of eroticism would seem a natural fit.

Most of the pieces Gloria has shown were also from the days when men smoked in the parlor and other "Men Only" places, only encouraging decadent thought...

Also, many of the ashtrays in particular were also set out in clubs, bars and casinos, which often have adult themes -- the vintage ones with pinups etc. are quite the norm for matchbooks which bars gave away. Drinking and smoking lead to sexy babes.



In a case of 'great minds,' Deanna's also been on the tobacco road. On Monday she wrote Up In Smoke: The Vanishing Culture of Tobacco.

(And of course I posted my additional ashtray pics this week too.)

Be Careful Where You Flick: Nude Ash Trays

You know I have a thing for risque ashtrays...

Here are some more lovely vintage nude ashtray art works:




(From Dargate auctions.)



(Via Deco Spirit.)



The Ronson Art Metal Works produced a line of wonderful Ashtrays going back to the 1920's, including art deco nudes.

Indian (Sex) Servants of God

Devadasi literally means "Servant of God." Like Christian nuns, the Devadasi were girls who married a deity or temple.

In addition to taking care of the temple they learned and practiced classical Indian arts traditions. Originally, like nuns, they were to be celibate all their lives, but at some point in their history (likely as the wealth and prestige of temples grew) sex became part of their sacred duties. In Hindu belief, the Devadasi had sex to commune with their god; it was a sacred experience.

The Devadasi life was not forced upon anyone -- like many Christians dropped young girls off at nunneries, so did Hindus take their girls to be raised and trained for the honor of serving their faith. (Yes, I'm sure many of the poor just dropped off their kids for one less mouth to feed, but many a nun began thus -- or as an orphan.) This was not forced prostitution and the Devadasi occupied a rank next only to priests. They were revered, enjoying a high social status.

However, as colonialism imposed cultural changes, bringing about the demise of kingdoms and Hinduism itself, the Devadasis were deemed immoral for their sex outside of marriage -- as defined by Christians. They were not only frowned upon and classified as prostitutes, but many were forced to become prostitutes just to survive.

There is a movement to reclaim the role of Devadasi, both to uplift them historically (removing the Western biases) as well as to resurrect the legitimacy of the practices today. One such women is Kama of Kingston, who is interviewed here.

Kama knows (and can perform) her Kama Sutra, but she also knows so much more. Her blog is filled with political and cultural matters: "This is the personal diary and commentary of an Indian Devadasi escort living and working in the UK. I am hoping that this Blog will let me record my experiences and feelings about being young, foreign, and selling sex in the UK."

It's an amazing history, and quite surprising to see such a young little thing standing up tall (to be the nail who takes the hardest pounding) in such culturally, politically intolerant times of conservatism, censorship and control.

You can buy statuary with Devadasi images here, and watch videos of Kama here.

Vintage Beauty Guides

A review of three vintage beauty/makeup collecting guides.

(Photo is from a page in Vintage Compacts & Beauty Accessories by Lynell Schwartz.)

Hot & Steamy

Li'l Abner and the buxom, steamy Daisy Mae pitching Cream of Wheat:



If sex sells, the kids had to eat it cuz dad brought it home.

From a 1947 Life magazine.

What's Left Behind

I inherited my grandparents' house. Over the years I have been slowly going through things left behind. When I first moved in everything was just shoved in boxes and stored in the basement. Lately I have actually started going through things and what I have found is a treasure trove of vintage stuff of a sexual nature.

Read more about (& see more) of what this lucky girl has found in It's in the Genes.

On a related note, have I shown you Estate Sales and Women's Lives? Even if I did, here's a back-to-back look at what's left to find when you die...

More Quick Links

When women were allowed to look like women, by Gloria Brame.

Art and Seduction in 18th Century France exhibit, through April 8, 2007.

Image from Comic Book Bondage Cover of The Day.

100,000 Years of Sex Exhibit

Via Fleshbot, news of the new exhibition at the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany which explores the fascinating history of "100,000 Years of Sex."

The full range of more than 250 exhibits from over 60 european museums spanned Stone Age figures with oversized genitals to modern pictures with hefty sex scenes. Libertine paintings from the Greak and Roman art with lovers in all kinds of sex postions belong to the repertoire asa well as
erotic pictures from the beginning of photography. But for all that, the infamous chastety belt and the oldest condom of the world mustn't be missed in the shown erotica!

The exhibit begins Feb. 3 and runs until May 20. If you can't make it, you can look at some photos here.

This photo cracks me up because you know what they say about fellows with big noses...

Saving Davies -- And The Beach House -- From Sex

In Reviving a Faded Movie Star and Her Pool Martha Groves writes that "Marion Davies and her beach house embodied Hollywood's Golden Age. Decades later, the actress and the site are back in the limelight."

Living with married William Randolph Hearst at Hearst Castle (officially the beach house known as San Simeon), Davies endured denigration of being the mistress even as she played hostess to lavish Hollywood parties attended by the creme de la creme of society & power brokers of the world.

(Photo of a circus themed birthday party for W.R. Hearst at Davies' beach house attended by (left to right) Irene Dunne, William Randolph Hearst, Bette Davis, Louella Parsons and Mary Brian.)

Many never forgave her her sins; she was the notorious mistress.

And in 1941 Orson Welles'"Citizen Kane" (said to be loosely based on Hearst's life) convinced the public that Davies was shrill -- and talentless. Her sins confirmed, she screwed her way into films.

Later Welles would deny that the mistress in Kane was not Davies, and others would hail her one of the best comediennes in film. Others, like co-star William Haines would comment on her classy and kind nature.

Time may not have been entirely kind to the mansion Davies and Hearst lived in, but in retrospect Davies comes out both lovely and talented decades later. A cynic might say that the sex stains just needed to be removed in order to muster interest in cleaning up the joint, but I prefer to believe that Davies, maligned and misunderstood at the time, is now seen more clearly.

Tricky Dick Sexy Collectibles

"Liberated Lovelies for Nixon 1972" and "Lick Dick in '72" buttons: Classic anti-Nixon items I now covet, thanks to Fun With Dick and Shame.

Who knew President Nixon collecting could be so fun and sexy?

Nude Lady Nodder Legs & Fan Ashtray

I have the base, or bed, to one of these old ashtrays.

I knew what it was, even without the nodder legs and fan, so I grabbed it for a mere quarter.

I thought I would be able to find the legs at least -- surely someone has broken the base, right?

So far, no luck. But I still look.

I smoke, so I'd love to see her at work ;)

Politically Incorrect Swizzle Sticks

The auction for these stir sticks ends in just a few hours (so if you want 'em, bid now!), so I figured I'd best borrow the photo and comment as quickly as I can.

I've never seen these before, and I am completely charmed -- in an utterly perverted sense of the word 'charmed', I am sure, but nevertheless, I love these! As a collector, these non-PC items thrill me. As a woman, I am both horrified and amused by the depictions of the aging process... I'd like to add that while these are about black folks, I'd be equally enthralled if these women were white. But they are not. Undoubtedly, as Black Americana, they will get 3 times the final bid of white chicks too. But on to my horror & delight...

If you look closely, inside each woman's abdomen (or uterus) is a number, her age. Note at 15 how firm her breasts are, but at 30, they begin to droop... let's not even talk about 40. And apparently, women look so bad after 40, there's no sense in making a swizzle stick.

I think I need a drink after this ;)

PS I found these by watching the ebay feed on the sidebar -- that thing will be the death of my bank account yet.

Anyone Know More About Storks Being a "Dirty Bird"?

This is a patch I found at an estate sale, but I know little about it...

Embroidered on the green velvet, is a stork delivering a baby. The text reads "The Stork Is A Dirty Bird".

I grabbed it up, for such a stork referencing the old myths of where babies come from fits my perception of my collection. (And I do have quite a few very innocent stork items for such reasons -- plus, storks are entertaining as they go from cute to comical.) But I have no information on what significance the saying has, nor a clue as to who would wear such a patch (or perhaps it is a pocket due to its shape?).

I figured the internet would clue me in on the history, but no luck. If you have more information, post a comment or email me. Thanks!

Dirty Jokes Collectibles

When I started collecting naughty bits of history, I used to ignore the risque humor items. I thought they were too silly, and focused on publications, postcards, and of course pinups.

But somewhere along the line (a line every collector realizes at some point is blurry), I allowed myself to include the gag items. The glassware, ashtrays etc with dirty jokes and cartoons printed on them.

At the left, a circa 1960's square porcelain dish or ashtray, made in Japan, with a buxom blonde sitting across the desk from her surprised doctor. It reads "MEALS? Thought you said three MALES a day!"

(A double whammy -- a sex joke and a blonde joke!)

At the right, a black glass rectangular ashtray, circa 1960's, featuring what appears to be a nude woman hiding her nakedness behind her large fan.

At the top it reads "As the Fan Dancer said to her fan..." and at the near bottom right, "I'll never let you down!" At the very bottom it reads "Happy Birthday!"

One guesses that this ashtray was purchased by the older-set who had not fully adopted the freedom of the 60's youth, and still found burlesque outrageous.

The art reminds me of those naughty cards you still find in adult stores -- hell, even the shape -- a big rectangle -- remains the same.