Blood and Sex

August 14, 2009 7:11 PM

Stagmags.com - vintage men's magazine cover scans. (slightly NSFW)

From the FAQ: These covers are presented as cultural artifacts and as examples of mid-20th-century commercial artwork. We don't apologize for any of the material here – hell, we think it's awesome! If you're a prissy, easily-offended, politically correct whiner who might burst into tears at any moment, please feel free to fuck off.

posted by gman (52 comments total)

Mac OS 10.5.8, Safari 4.0.2...

View source shows something has loaded. Page displays as blank white with no content.
posted by hippybear at 7:15 PM on August 14, 2009

Then I guess you haven't read Myth of the Negro Lover.
*It really doesn't work for you? hmmmm... Anyone else?
posted by gman at 7:18 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Judging from the pictures, the story behind this one seems to indicate that they tried to suddenly change their format from heroic tales of war to huge boobs as a last ditch effort to bolster sales before ceasing publication.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:25 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

she's dead, jim.

(chrome, linux)
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:27 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

looks like they messed up their CSS tags, left a dangling comment in there to safeguard IE6 users, and didn't check on standards compliant browsers.

the deeper pages aren't busted: http://www.stagmags.com/A-to-B/Ace/index.php
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:30 PM on August 14, 2009

yep... 1958, ten years old, going to the local drug store, watching out for the old maid clerk who felt it was her job to keep us from looking at the covers... god forbid we open one of those up and see what was inside.... good times...
posted by HuronBob at 7:30 PM on August 14, 2009

Eh, it all works for me on Windows 7 and Firefox.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:30 PM on August 14, 2009

The main page is currently borked for me as well. Until then, I'll have to plug the outstanding dead-tree compilation that Adam Parfrey put together: It's a Man's World.

Weasels Ripped My Flesh!
posted by Tube at 7:31 PM on August 14, 2009

Works for me. Boy, does it work for me.
posted by stinkycheese at 7:33 PM on August 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

Do the deeper pages work for people?
posted by gman at 7:34 PM on August 14, 2009

- Ace
- Action For Men
- Adam
- Adventure
- All-Man
- Bachelor
- Battle Cry
- Best For Men
- Blue Book
- Cabaret
- Cad
- Caper
- Cavalcade
- Cavalier
- Climax
- Dude
posted by gman at 7:42 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

well, this one just about explains the last 8 years of American politics.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:47 PM on August 14, 2009

- Escapade
- For Men Only
- Foto-Rama
- Frolic
- Fury
- Gala
- Gent
- Hi-Life
- Jaguar
- Jem
- Joker
- Knight
- Male
- Man's
- Man's Action
- Man's Adventure
- Man's Conquest
- Man's Illustrated
- Man's Life
- Man's Magazine
- Man's World
- Man to Man
- Men
- Men's Digest
- Modern Man
- Modern Man Quarterly
- Nugget
- Pix
- Playboy
- Real
- Real Men
- Rogue
- Saga
- See For Men
- Sir
- Sir Knight
- Spree
- Stag
- Tab
- Topper
- True Action
- True Adventures
- True Men
- Vue
posted by gman at 7:51 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Excellent - AAAAAAAAAAAAA+ will read again.
posted by a non e mouse at 7:57 PM on August 14, 2009

I will always be grateful to the Neuse Sport Shop in Kingston, NC for putting their Playboys within reach of eight-year-old boys who have managed to slip away from their grandfathers for a bit.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:57 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Weasels Ripped My Flesh
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:58 PM on August 14, 2009 [8 favorites]

"Weasels Ripped My Flesh" sucks when that happens...
posted by HuronBob at 8:03 PM on August 14, 2009

That's some great stuff there, thanks.
posted by marxchivist at 8:10 PM on August 14, 2009

And for Pacific Northwest hipsters in the 1990s, there was Kutie.
posted by D.C. at 8:15 PM on August 14, 2009

Some of these are familiar to me! Back in 2003, my friend and I bought over 1,000 mens magazines for $200 at an estate sale. We literally filled the bed of my truck with porn! Most of the magazines were eventually sold on ebay.

I don't think I have the photos I took of the covers but if I did I would add the following to the collection:
Date Mates
Sin & Sign
Picture Show
Monsieur
Debonair
Parisian Party
posted by vespabelle at 8:24 PM on August 14, 2009

Foto-Rama is proud to bring you Bettie Page!
posted by rdone at 8:29 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Ah, Kutie, They had the Neko Case cheesecake photos.

I'll be in my bunk.
posted by Rangeboy at 8:33 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

"Weasels Ripped My Flesh" sucks when that happens.

The inevitable Zappa link for that.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 8:38 PM on August 14, 2009

These are great as a design resource. It's hard to find collections like this that don't have 50-year old stains of suspicious origin.
posted by rokusan at 8:41 PM on August 14, 2009

I look forward to the day that "enjoying these covers makes me a macho anti-authoritarian! rar!" becomes as outdated as the magazines. (I say this as someone who finds most of them hot and/or awesome-in-a-dumb-kitschy way and/or fascinating sociological and artistic reference.)
posted by rivenwanderer at 8:48 PM on August 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Yummy.

I weep that society's tastes in the "ideal woman" have changed so very much. I mean this in the least sexist way possible, while still slavering over curvy exposed boobflesh.

Ok, so maybe I am being sexist. I don't know...I just want to express my admiration without sounding overly creepy.
posted by Kickstart70 at 8:50 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

So many of these stories are of the "I cannot say anymore! It is too horrible!" school of writing-about-things-you're-not-supposed-to-be-writing about. I just wonder if the sheer cognative dissodence ever got to them. Like "SIN-HAPPY FREAKS ARE RUNING CAPE COD!" and the writer just stares at his typewriter, knowing that ..what people want are stories about SIN-HAPPY FREAKS but you can't imply that they're any good or having fun or ..anything, but you also have to describe in purple, vein-pumping detail said things which cannot be mention or approved of, and does he just, for a second, POUND on the keyboard "SEX SEX SEXY SEX SEX NIPPLESCOCKASSFUCKFUCKITYFUCKBOOB" before taking a breather, taking a shot, and calmly, without looking at the page go "On the sunny isle of Cape Cod, home to many of America's most notable families, a strange and siniste rmix of sun-soaked sin and is brewing.."
posted by The Whelk at 8:51 PM on August 14, 2009 [6 favorites]

What? No Hunk Rump or Black Inches?

Disappointed.
posted by Askiba at 9:22 PM on August 14, 2009

I remember finding some old Nuggets of my dad's in 1976.
posted by shothotbot at 9:23 PM on August 14, 2009

I would kill for a few boxes of these. They just look so dang.... readable.
posted by Bageena at 9:41 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I would totally read this.
"Those slimy rodents are eating my flesh." I sense a trend...
posted by Heretic at 10:02 PM on August 14, 2009

At some time in my early teens - or even pre-teens - I discovered my dad's stash of Playboys from the mid- to late-sixties. He'd always been pretty straight-laced, so the discovery was a bit of a surprise - we'd rented a storage unit, and in the shuffle of preparing things to go back and forth between the basement and the unit, the box turned up.

Man!

A while after capitalizing on the initial rush of available nudie pictures, I spent a lot of time going through the magazines reading the articles. Although I was aware of the cliche ("shut up - I only read it for the articles!"), Playboy was a great place to find both incisive political commentary and a lot of compelling literature. Despite having spent most of my formative years in the 1980s, access to my dad's stash of smut gave me a lot of insight into and understanding of the events and climate of the U.S. in the 60s - I had a better grasp of the news events and political landscape of the time from the articles, and I had a better feel for the mood of the time based on the hopes and fears expressed in the fiction.

A few years ago, I wound up with a free subscription to Playboy, something added as an incentive for some purchase or another. I've kept every single one. Although the writing's not quite as good as it used to be, some day I might have a kid who would benefit from a better understanding of the events and circumstances that impacted my life. In that case, I figure I'll probably lose track of exactly where my stash of old Playboys wind up, and see if history repeats itself.
posted by Graygorey at 10:19 PM on August 14, 2009

90% of these are hilarious if you associate the main headline with the image
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:39 PM on August 14, 2009 [6 favorites]

I mean this
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:42 PM on August 14, 2009

Those nasty co-eds, lousing up college life. DAMN it would be so much easier if those pesky girls would go away.
posted by dunkadunc at 11:05 PM on August 14, 2009

Climax? Wow.
posted by chorltonmeateater at 11:20 PM on August 14, 2009

How To Grow A Mustache and Amaze Your Friends

I think this pretty much clarifies what the target demographic of these magazines was.
posted by dunkadunc at 11:23 PM on August 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

In that case, I figure I'll probably lose track of exactly where my stash of old Playboys wind up, and see if history repeats itself.

He will be downloading bukakke cosplay snuff films from the Internet by the time he is 12, and Playboy will seem as tame and outdated as Cavalier.
posted by Meatbomb at 1:30 AM on August 15, 2009

I remember finding some old Nuggets of my dad's in 1976.
Being born in 1976, I find this a deeply disturbing but have no real idea why...

Kindof sad that there's nothing recognisably English in there (although I think Knight is now part of Mayfair) but I assume it's from someone's collection rather than an open repository of magazines...
posted by twine42 at 2:38 AM on August 15, 2009

They just look so dang.... readable.

Oh, yeah. Hell, I've got an issue of "The Dude" from 1957 that has fiction in it from William Faulkner, Paul Bowles, and Harlan Ellison, for chrissakes.
posted by the bricabrac man at 5:26 AM on August 15, 2009

I remember finding some old Nuggets of my dad's in 1976.

Were they crusted on the side of the couch?
posted by gman at 6:12 AM on August 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh geez, this would be so much better if there were a few sample interior pages. I'm not complaining, as it is what it is, but just a few old ads or articles would be really tie the room together here.
posted by crapmatic at 7:24 AM on August 15, 2009

Others have touched on this, but men's magazines were a significant source of income for many writers back in the day. Ellison, among many, paid his rent with sales to these magazines. As this source dried up, many speculative fiction writers were picked up by Omni magazine (which was, not surprisingly, part of the Penthouse publishing empire) which is where I first read stories by Bruce Sterling.

So few magazines (of any sort) that publish new work in this manner exist anymore.

I just think it's interesting that these rather parochial examples of media culture acted as a crucible for so many modern authors.
posted by clvrmnky at 8:04 AM on August 15, 2009

Hahah -- possibly my favourite so far.

"Strange New Breed of Girls Who Hunt Wild Apes -- Scientific Research or Sexual Hangup?"

And therefore, of course --

Metafilter: Scientific Research or Sexual Hangup?
posted by modernnomad at 9:54 AM on August 15, 2009

In that case, I figure I'll probably lose track of exactly where my stash of old Playboys wind up

In the woods. It's always in the woods.
posted by hangashore at 10:18 AM on August 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Pffft. Needs more celery.

Although I like this one - I wonder how they managed to pinpoint the exact date ("Not a psycho yet... still not insane... hoooold it...... NOW!").
posted by PontifexPrimus at 12:50 PM on August 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

I think this pretty much clarifies what the target demographic of these magazines was.

Wannabe hipsters?
posted by effbot at 1:30 PM on August 15, 2009

Inside: An apt description
posted by subbes at 2:19 PM on August 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

If you're a prissy, easily-offended, politically correct whiner who might burst into tears at any moment, please feel free to fuck off.

I know they were hearing the Tucker Max voice in their head while they were reading this, but I heard Chris Farley's motivational speaker.

I love the pin-up art and erotica of the 40s through 60s, from this stuff to (NSFW, obvs) Tom of Finland.
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:38 PM on August 15, 2009

i think it's funny to ask "Is there a Lesbian in your town?" when there's one mad and wild pussy ready to tear the flesh off a second man who may or may not be a good shooter :D
posted by liza at 6:01 PM on August 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

I have no fucking clue what is going on here, but I want in.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 6:14 PM on August 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

Ah, Kutie, They had the Neko Case cheesecake photos.

*what*

you mean like this?
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:49 AM on August 16, 2009