Drag history (8 risultati)

dj. First Edition. [LGBTQ][Transgender][Cross-Dressing] Anonymous. Miss High-heels. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1969. First U.S. edition. Octavo. Lime green cloth boards in original photo-illustrated dust jacket. First published anonymously in Paris in 1931, Miss High-heels is an infamous work of fetishistic and feminization-themed erotica, presented here in its first U.S. printing by Grove Press, known for its defiance of censorship and promotion of transgressive literature. The novel tells the story of Dennis Evelyn Beryl, a young, effeminate English aristocrat who, under the coercive influence of his domineering step-sister Helen, is gradually transformed into "Denise," the titular Miss High-heels. Framed as a fictional memoir penned at Helen's command, the narrative follows Dennis's journey from privileged heir to submissive cross-dresser. He is forced into girls' school, stripped of masculine identifiers, and eventually returned to the family estate clothed in "diamond-buckled satin slippers" and "the finest silks and satins," fully assuming the role of a "fetichiste-du-pied." Themes of humiliation and gender inversion mark the main character's transition as a fetish story, but the book also allows for them to feel comfortable in their new identity: "Eventually Dennis is brought to realize how much more pleasurable is his life as a young girl, and he willingly abandons his name, fortune, and life to the whims of Helen." Notable both for its elaborate prose and for its early depiction of forced feminization fantasy, Miss High-heels occupies a space between pornography and proto-trans literature which would later flourish in small press chapbook format in the 80s and 90s. While drenched in the misogynistic and sadomasochistic tropes of its genre, the text is nevertheless of interest among scholars of queer publishing history. Binding tight and square; boards clean; jacket bright with light shelfwear and a single 1/2 in closed tear at the top margin of front panel. Overall near fine in very good dust jacket. A historically resonant text in trans and fetish literature.…

First Edition. Three works of transvestite and gender transformation fiction by Jan O'Sullivan, Susan Peerless, and Michelle Lange, published 1991 to 1992 for a readership developing literary and social networks outside mainstream publishing. Issued by Empathy Press and Reluctant Press, the novels center on forced feminization, domestic service, supernatural transformation, and cross-gender identification, using contemporary publisher terminology including "Transvestite Fiction Fantasy" and "TV" fiction. Michelle Lange also appeared in "The TV TS Tapestry Journal," published by the International Foundation for Gender Education, where she described her interest in domestic service, sought correspondence with others, and stated that she collected and wrote stories drawn from experiences and fantasies. Reluctant Press advertised in "Tapestry" as well, placing both within the underground national print network through which crossdressers and trans people exchanged writing, correspondence, and commercial resources in the early 1990s. Three staple-bound illustrated fiction booklets, each approximately 5½ x 8½ inches, published 1991 to 1992: [1] O'Sullivan, Jan. "School for Shemales." Seattle: Empathy Press, 1991. 50 pp. "A Transvestite Fiction Fantasy." [2] Peerless, Susan. "Spirit of a Lady." Alexandria, Virginia: Reluctant Press, 1992. 84 pp. Illustrated by Brian Dukehart. First printing. Peerless was a recurring Reluctant Press author, with other fiction issued by the press including "Two Pink Ladies," "An Antebellum Way of Life," "Unchained Bride," and "Georgio & Zoe." [3] Lange, Michelle. "Mademoiselle's Replacement." Alexandria, Virginia: Reluctant Press, 1992. 64 pp. Illustrated by Brian Dukehart. First printing, October 1992. The publisher's introductory text identifies Lange as the author of the earlier "Forced to be A Maiden Person" and describes the story as "a delightful version of a young man being transformed into the perfect French maid." Under the same name in "TV TS Tapestry," Lange described enjoying domestic service from the servant's point of view and writing stories based on "experiences and fantasies." The three booklets belong to the early-1990s cross-dressing and trans print culture represented by "TV TS Tapestry," which carried erotic fiction, personal ads, medical and legal writing, and advertising from publishers including Reluctant Press. Lange's contribution provides a direct link between commercial transformation fiction and that wider community print network: her interest in domestic service appears both in her published fiction and in her own "Tapestry" statement. The books retain the period's terminology, including "Transvestite," "TV," and "transsexual," while their publishers and authors operated within a market where erotic transformation fiction circulated alongside personal correspondence, community information, organizations, and other services. Light rubbing and toning to wrappers, with minor handling wear and retail labels to covers; interiors appear clean and intact. Overall very good condition. A concentrated group of early-1990s gender transformation fiction from the commercial and community print culture serving cross-dressing and trans readers.…

Imperial Court of New York Pride parade photo archive showing drag royalty, queer pageantry, and public LGBTQ Pride in Manhattan, circa 2000, when court organizations used coronation ritual and performance spectacle to make gay community work visible in the street. The Imperial Court System was founded in 1965 by José Sarria, the San Francisco performer and activist who became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States in 1961, and the Imperial Court of New York was founded in 1986 under Emperor I George and Empress I Sybil Bruncheon. The New York court describes itself as a social and fundraising organization that has raised money for social service and health support organizations, placing these photographs within a culture of drag performance tied to HIV/AIDS support, social visibility, and charitable work in the tri state area. Photo archive of 9 chromogenic color photographs, each 6 x 4 inches, New York City, circa 2000. The photographs show an Imperial Court of New York float in a Pride parade, with participants in crowns, tiaras, formal wear, pink sequined costumes, curled wigs, red lipstick, and court regalia performing camp monarchy before spectators behind barricades. Float signage reads "Imperial Court New York" and "Imperial Court," while another photograph shows the rear of the float framed by rainbow bunting, a painted crown, and a papered platform carrying costumed titleholders and attendants. Other images show parade marchers and street performers in drag, leather, rainbow wings, and bright costume elements, including a performer in a horned headpiece and black corset, another in blue hair and a short white dress, and a figure wearing rainbow colored wing panels before a dense sidewalk crowd. NYPD presence is also documented in the photographs. The group records a local chapter of a national queer court culture using royal titles, camp hierarchy, and public spectacle to convert drag performance into civic and charitable presence. The International Court System identifies its chapters as courts with elected leaders bearing titles such as emperor, empress, prince, and princess, and describes their work through coronation events, drag performances, and community activities supporting LGBTQ rights, social services, and charitable causes. In these photographs, that structure appears not as an indoor gala or bar revue but as a public Pride procession, where formal gowns, crowns, float signage, and playful monarchy announce the court to spectators in the city that had become central to national gay liberation memory after Stonewall. Clean versos; images bright, with good color and sharpness. Overall in very good condition. The photo archive documents the Imperial Court of New York drag pageantry carrying fundraising culture, camp royalty, and LGBTQ community visibility into the public space of Manhattan Pride.…

Nine works of trans and cross-dressing erotic fiction, circa 1980s to 1990, documenting a specialized adult market for fiction centered on feminization, gender-role reversal, and fantasies of sexual and social roles outside conventional heterosexual gender roles. The narratives range from cross dressing to l transformation. Several titles were issued by Cathy [Charles] Slavik's Empathy Press of Seattle, a mail order publisher specializing in transgender, cross dressing, LGBT erotic fiction. Archive includes nine staple bound fiction booklets, all approximately 45-65 pp.: [1] "Skirted Men. Book 9." Empathy Press, Seattle, 1982. [2] "Skirted Men. Book 24." Empathy Press, Seattle, 1984. [3] "Transvestite Training Camp." Empathy Press, circa 1986. 4] "Men in Skirts. Book 37." Empathy Press, Seattle, 1987. [5] "Guys in Gowns: Transvestite Adventure Stories. Book 81." Empathy Press, Seattle, 1990. [6] Wilson, Joanne. "He's the New Girl in Town." 1990. [7] "Transvestite Sissy." [Empathy Press attribution established externally; no imprint in this copy]. [8] "Queen of the Square Dance." [Publisher unidentified, circa 1980s]. [9] "Vacation Transvestites." [Publisher unidentified]. The booklets preserve evidence of an underground market for queer erotic material and gender play from a period when public representation of trans and gender-nonconforming sexuality remained limited. Empathy Press marketed this fiction alongside a larger catalogue of explorative transgender and cross-dressing books, magazines, films, tapes, contacts, and related adult material, while the unidentified publications demonstrate the same broader commercial appetite for a feminization, cross dressing, and gender transformation narratives. Moderate toning, rubbing, edge wear, and occasional soiling to wrappers; staples intact. Overall good condition. A concentrated group of 1980s fetish fiction documenting the commercial development of cross dressing, progressive feminization, and gender transformation as specialized categories of adult print culture.…

[LGBTQ] [Drag] Archive of Finocchio's nightclub materials, 1940s-1950s, one of the earliest and most influential drag venues in the United States. Founded in 1936 at 506 Broadway in San Francisco, Finocchio's emerged from Depression-era nightlife to become a nationally recognized stage for female impersonation at a time when queer expression was routinely policed and publicly stigmatized. Operating decades before the gay liberation movement, the club cultivated a space where gender illusion, theatrical glamour, and camp spectacle were presented for mixed audiences, from San Francisco's gay community to tourists and Hollywood figures. Six items. San Francisco, 1940s-1950s. The archive is anchored by a large-format performance booklet featuring illustrated cover artwork by performer and artist Li-Kar and interior photographic portraits of principal female impersonators in elaborate costume. Substantially larger than standard venue handouts, the booklet is a visually ambitious souvenir, highlighting star performers through graphic design and photography. Also included are a smaller illustrated promotional drink menu and four souvenir postcards depicting the revue cast in sequined gowns, chorus-line formations, and staged tableaux. Measurements range approximately from 4 x 6 inches to 8 x 11 inches. During the 1940s and 1950s, as policing of queer bars intensified in many American cities, Finocchio's maintained a visible and commercially successful presence, marketing itself with the slogan "The most interesting women are not women at all." Its stage featured performers who helped bring female impersonation into mainstream entertainment in the U.S. Minor edge wear and light handling creases; printed surfaces remain bright with strong image clarity. Overall very good condition.…

Condizione: Very good. Julian Eltinge (1881/18831941) was an American actor and "female impersonator"in today's terms, a drag performerfrom Newtonville, Massachusetts. Eltinge's drag career began at age ten, and by the early 1900s he was touring internationally, performing a vaudeville act wherein the "audience was completely deceived as to Eltinge's sex until he removed his wig"[1]. This portrait shows Eltinge seated in costume. On the reverse is written "Julian Eltinge Hippodrome March 12", and the front is signed "Herold Brown" (this signature does not appear to belong to commercial photographer Harold M. Brown). A stamp is legible that dates the photograph to the 1920s, though the exact year is not legible. Eltinge has been described as "without question, the most famous female impersonator of all time" (ibid.). [1] Slide, Anthony, "Julian Eltinge," in The Vaudevillians: A Dictionary of Vaudeville Performers (Westport, Connecticut: Arlington House, 1981), 46. Approximately 10 x 13 inches. Some tears and chips at edges, very good contrast, editorial overpainting on recto, overall very good. Marks on verso reading "Julian Eltinge Hippodrome March 12".…

[LGBTQ] [Cross-Dressing] Collection of eight photographs, 1920s-1990s, traces the evolution of female impersonation and cross-dressing entertainment across the twentieth century, spanning early vaudeville-era performers through television and film portrayals of gender variance. The archive captures both underground stage culture and mainstream representation, illuminating shifting public attitudes toward cross-dressing in American performance history. Early real photo postcards advertising Francis Blair as "Dancer De Luxe" demonstrate commercial promotion of female impersonation in the 1920s, while later silver gelatin photographs depict drag performers in 1960s stage attire and publicity stills from film and television exploring gender disguise as narrative device. One image references Jamie Farr's portrayal of a cross-dressing soldier in 1979 television, described in accompanying press text as "the first time a man played a man who would dress as a woman," underscoring changing media engagement with gender nonconformity. Collection of eight photographs. Sizes range from 3.5 x 5.25 inches to 8 x 10 inches. Includes two real photo postcards from the early 1920s advertising Francis Blair; four silver gelatin photographs from the 1960s showing drag performers in contemporary women's fashion; publicity still of Reg Varney in The Best Pair of Legs in the Business (1973); and images of Danielle Carter in tiger print stage costume. Several photographs retain original press articles or captions en verso. The archive chart a movement from theatrical female impersonation in live revue culture to mediated representation in film and television. They illustrate how cross-dressing functioned alternately as spectacle, satire, subcultural identity, and emerging topic of public conversation. Photographs crisp with minimal edge wear; versos clean where visible. Overall very good condition. A cross-generational visual archive of twentieth-century gender-nonconforming performance.…

Elliott, Stephan (director). The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994, documents drag performance, transgender identity, and queer mobility within late twentieth-century cinema, situating its narrative in the Australian Outback as three performers travel together and encounter varied social environments. The film follows characters portrayed by Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving, and Terence Stamp, with Stamp's role as Bernadette presenting a transgender woman within a narrative that foregrounds resilience, performance, and community. Released during a period of expanding international visibility for LGBTQ+ stories, the film received critical recognition for its costume design and visual presentation, winning the Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 67th Academy Awards, and later developed into a stage musical that extended its cultural reach. Its portrayal of drag and transgender experience contributed to broader shifts in representation within global cinema during the 1990s. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment: Australia, 1994. Archive of four original silver gelatin press photographs, each measuring approximately 8 x 10 inches. Images include Terence Stamp as Bernadette in formal attire, and Guy Pearce both in and out of drag, including a performance costume featuring elaborate feathered design. Photographs retain the compositional clarity typical of studio-issued promotional stills, intended for press and publicity use. Produced at a time when LGBTQ+ narratives were gaining increased prominence in international film, these photographs align with the circulation of queer cinema across national boundaries and the role of visual promotion in shaping audience reception. The emphasis on costume, character, and performance reflects the film's engagement with identity as both lived experience and theatrical expression. As a group, the images contribute to the documentation of late twentieth-century LGBTQ+ representation in film and the visual culture surrounding its promotion. Images crisp with no visible edge wear; overall very good condition.…