vintage
Explore vintage magazines and films through timeless pieces from our archives.
Brothels in Art
Prostitution and art got a similar start. They both went hand in hand with religion. While painters and sculptors were portraying the gods, prostitutes were serving the gods in religious sanctuaries. The oldest recorded brothel was attached to the temple of the Sumerian deity Anu. The inmates, watched over by a Sumerian madame, were dedicated to the cult of Anu's lustful daughter, Ishtar, and the proceeds from their “holy” activities went to the priests of the temple. This would seem like the perfect setup for artists, merging two of their most popular themes: sex and religion. But the Sumerians stuck chiefly to religion and left sex and the servants of Ishtar out of their art.
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
History of Erotic Inventions. Created with: OG Collection.
A technological age that sends men to the moon and drains gas from the seabeds—among other feats—shows a surprising lack of invention in enriching the intimate life of 20th century man. H. G. Wells, if he were to peruse the catalogues of the Western world's proliferating sex shops, would be appalled at the scant originality revealed. In both hardware (metal and wooden tools of sex) and software (creams and stimulants) the century offers strikingly little that is genuinely new. The only important exception was the electric vibrator, named by the Danish sexologists Sten & Inge Hegeler as the No. 1 must for the erotic couple. The vibrator must be accorded the palm as the 20th century's principal contribution to eroticism.
By OG Collection 10 years ago in Filthy
Unicorns as Phallic Symbols
A documentary movie about the uncharted central region of New Guinea made its rounds in the art-theater circuit many years ago. It boasted some outstanding photography, an uncommonly intelligent narration, and—since the American censor boards frown on the genitals of civilized people only—some unusually frank sequences of naked natives. One of the more memorable reels showed a tribe of savage Papuans whose penises are sheathed in long, horn-like shields, tied to their waists to resemble the erect phallus.
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
Jewel Box Revue
The most unexplainable phenomenon of show business in the year 1962 was the sudden increase in the popularity of that highly specialized branch of entertainment known as female impersonation. Very simply, female impersonation consists of men who dress like women, sing and dance like women, and even beguile and titillate like women. Several dozen companies of these female impersonators toured the nation's theaters and clubs, playing to record crowds.
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
Was Muhammad Ali a Racist?
Greatest heavyweight in the history of boxing, yes. Perhaps even fifth or sixth greatest boxer ever, in any weight division. But as a person, Muhammad Ali was a complex individual, jaded by the racially charged atmosphere of the late 1960s and 1970s. The Vietnam war, along with his personal struggles and protests, took him out of the game for three years of his prime. He wore his showmanship on his sleeve, but beneath the entreating exterior lied an angry often extremely volatile individual, whose determination was unmatched in the sport of boxing.
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
History of Phone Sex
Gloria Leonard is believed to be the first person to use 900 numbers as a new revenue stream in the adult industry. She recorded her own voice, giving callers updates on the next issue of High Society magazine before the issue was published. Leonard persuaded the then magazine publisher Carl Ruderman to buy many of these and soon the magazine's business was flourishing.
By Lizzie Boudoir10 years ago in Filthy
How to Pick Up Girls
There's more to life than meeting beautiful women, taking them out, and bringing them home to bed. But who cares about that? So why do some men have trouble picking up girls? Well, some men are shy and some have had repressive childhoods and feel guilty about sex. Now there is absolutely no reason to feel this way. Let's get this straight from the start—there's nothing wrong with lusting after women. If there was, God wouldn't have created women.
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
Interview with Drag Queen Divine
There comes a moment in life for some when the realization hits that you're way too fabulous for everyone else—more talented and fierce than all the nauseating kids in your class, and of course, you were destined to leave the monotony of your suburban existence behind and become the star you were meant to be. But there was one problem, that fierceness got suffocated by your parents, teachers, and anyone else that didn't "get it." What's a kid to do? For many the solution was: Divine. Hollywood's First Drag Superstar Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine, helped many live out their fantasies of living that outrageous life they had always dreamt of. He helped define and pave the way for a generation to come.
By George Gott10 years ago in Filthy
Xaviera Hollander Interview
"I always say I can do without a man for about 24 hours. Then I go hunting." Such a statement, so openly and unhesitantly made, could only have come from Xaviera Hollander—deported madam, polysexual sensualist, and bestselling author of the autobiographical The Happy Hooker. Hollander operated, with a blend of business flair and sexual fervor, the most successful brothel in New York City. Observant and articulate, she also grew to see her two years of catering to customer's desires as a personal service, as well as a way to make money, and herself as an intimate therapist, as well as a prostitute. As she tells in her book, she readily acceded to demands of every kind, however way-out, enjoying making people happy and being paid for "something I'd have been doing anyway."
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
Religious Sex Objects
Long, long ago, when man was very young, and the moon was still mistress of the night skies, the earth was a wondrous place filled with gods, demons, sorcerers, and djinns. Miracles were real, and magicians accomplished stupendous feats. There was no pollution, no smog, no nuclear sword of Damocles dangling over the green fields and blue seas. Best of all, there were no Kremlins or Pentagons where sleep was forbidden to enter. Although darkness provided cover for terrors and evils, it also afforded protection for lovers, who did the same things by the dying embers of fires that they do now in centrally heated apartments.
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
Grindhouse Biker Films
It's time to pause and appreciate the style commonly referred to as a grindhouse or exploitation film. This is an informal label applied to any low budget film. The low cost of production is seen as an blatant attempt to gain financial success by exploiting a current trend or a niche genre. These films tend to celebrate lurid subject matter such as sex, violence, or romance. Although most movies follow this formula, the reliance upon the exploitation is generally larger in grindhouse style flicks. Amid all of the grindhouse films made over the years, a few deserve a nod. This is especially true for grindhouse biker films. These films were often a mix of sexploitation, sensational violence, and the celebration of bizarre rebellion, popular from the 1950s through the 1970s.
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
Languages of Love
Language is one of the most inhibiting factors in love play. There comes a moment when every American or English male traveling abroad sees a girl to whom he wishes to say something to the following effect: "Mademoselle... Fräulen... Signorina, you are exquisite. Only the pre-Raphaelites could have caught your eyes, your lips, your hair. Your laughter is as that of distant cowbells on verdant hills, and the Georgian poets alone could have described you, oh moon of my delight that knows no wane…"
By Filthy Staff10 years ago in Filthy
