Dian Hanson's: The History of Men's Magazines. Vol. 6: 1970s Under the Counter

In the late 1960s specialty bookstores selling magazines under the counter were replaced by sex shops, or "adult bookstores" in the U.S., at which point every subject, with few exceptions, was freely available.

It started with Swedish Private and its shockingly explicit covers. Denmark's Theander brothers countered with Rodox and Color Climax, with equally explicit content. Soon they were supplying most of Northern Europe, with the Netherlands pitching in. In the U.S. Reuben Sturman was hailed King of Porn, with affiliates churning out hardcore of every kind to fill his 800 bookstores. Suddenly men used to taking what was offered could be picky. Lesbian dominance? Hot housewives? Black and Asian women? Hippie nudists espousing free love and drug use? Hairy women? Shaved women? Shaved women giving hairy women enemas? It was all there.

For the kinky, every fetish was represented: spanking titles Zap and Smack cuddled up to dominance titles Bitch and Aggressive Gals, and to Wet Dreams, Diapered and Dominated and Enema Pick ups. For rubberists there was quirky Atomage, and even quirkier Belly Button. Yes, Belly Button.

Are you familiar with the name Edw. Wood, Jr., called the world's worst film director? Then you'll enjoy his little-known porn magazines, including Balling, Skin & Bones and Party Time. What a decade.

Warning: everything in this volume is uncensored and for mature adults only. The photos do not represent the majority. Volume 6 features over 600 covers and photos from Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the U.S. with the usual, amusing text.

About the series

"Men's magazine" is a euphemism for "sex magazine," and this series traces its origins from 1900 to 1979, from the first coy French illustrations to the adult emporiums of Amsterdam, in six volumes, 2,760 pages, and nearly 4,000 full color covers and interior images. Dian Hanson produced men's magazines from 1976 to 2001, including Puritan, JUGGS, and Leg Show, before becoming TASCHEN's Sexy Book editor.