Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Paperback 69: The Gay Ones / Eve Linkletter (Fabian Z-124)

Paperback 69: Fabian Z-124 (PBO, 1958)

Title: The Gay Ones
Author: Eve Linkletter
Cover artist: "Chuck"

Yours for: SOLD! (4-28-08)


Best things about this cover:

  • Absolutely nothing about this cover screams "Gay" except the text. Am I supposed to believe that dancer is a man? No way. Am I supposed to believe that female spectator is turned on? Come on. What I see is Captain Smoky Bowtie ogling the gam of a rather voluptuous female dancer. "Where is the gay?," I ask. Is the hazy shade of purple supposed to suggest gayness? I have a right to know.
  • "The third sex" was a not-uncommon way to refer to homosexual folk in the mid 20th century. "Pranks of nature," however, is a new phrase to me.
  • I can only hope that Eve Linkletter has some relation to Art "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" Linkletter.

Best things about this back cover:

  • I've just ... never seen anything like this. So ahead of its time - using the back cover not to provide information about the book, but to market the image of the author. Nice faux signature at the bottom, too. "Eve ... just Eve."

RP

PS Check out G's site - its banner is basically a collage of images from this site. It's so beautiful that I want to steal it (and / or hire her to make me one like it).

4 comments:

Michael5000 said...

The original title, "Eve Linkletter's 'The Gay Ones Say the Darndest Things,'" had to be dropped due to a legal dispute.

Michael5000 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
G said...

She's the Catherine Coulter of 1958. How avant-garde!

Just pick a theme, Rex m'dear, and I'd be happy to provide you with a new header.

Jessica Renae said...

Totally late on this, but for a long time 'gay' was used to mean prostitute. I would assume that this is the intended usage for this book.