lesbian pulp and the lavender universe: Why I Love Lesbian Pulp Fiction

Tee Shirts for sale
at www.lavenderpulp.com

Actually it's the artwork. Beautiful artwork. Paintings illustrating passion, tenderness, fear and courage. Luscious colors and beautiful women. Knowing these books were published at a time when lesbian love truly was "spoken in whispers". Thinking of the joy our sisters felt getting their hands on one of these books. In a world of warped publishing and exploitation, to me it is still the beginning of lesbian visibility.

The quality of the artwork for these 1950s lgbt books varied. Most of the artists did this work while they were waiting for their big break and overall the cover illustrations were not highly valued at the time. It is estimated that 90% were destroyed.

You've Got Your Good Art...

The book jacket of Young and Innocent is a lovely example of Good Girl Art also known as GGA. The collector's term Good Girl Art does not mean art about a 'good girl' (far from it). Rather it is a painting of a woman, usually a sexy attractive woman (regardless of the storyline) that is done well. It's ‘girl art’ that is good. Get it?

What's wonderful about vintage pulp art is how it compares to today's book covers. Vintage pulp art tells a complete story similar to the old movie posters before photography became the norm. If you want to own an original lesbian pulp paperback check out my online bookstore www.lavenderpulp.com

One of the nicest covers I've seen is the hard to find lesbian pulpfiction 'The Girls in 3B’ (the title alone is terrific, isn't it?). Its artist James Meese is best known for his painterly approach especially in the subtleties of skin and facial tones. Below you'll also see the preliminary draft.

The Girls in 3B lesbian pulp fiction book is for sale at www.lavenderpulp.com

Recently, at New York's Society of Illustrators, Robert Lesser confided in the audience that paintings he now owns valued at $30,000 were purchased not so many years ago for as little as $2,500.

Then There's The Other Art...