Roth, Samuel (publisher, editor, illus.); Hal Zucker (coeditor); Ellen Ellsworth, Richard Roth, David George Kin, Arthur Sainer, Irwin Tuck, Denys Val Baker, et al. (editors)
 
New York: Good Times Publishing Company / Picadilly Books, 1953-56. Sixteen vintage digest nude pinup magazines, devoted to celebrity scandal, w/ airbrushed nudist photography, plus fiction, illustration, humor, much sensationalism. Regular "sex in space," book reviews, Paris & London letters, goddess memoirs columns, as well as consistent inclusion of Black American culture/models. Apparently two variants of first issue were produced, nearly identical in content, but one w/ Italic title font & photo cover, & more internal photos. Presuming the the illustrated cover w/ standard font/price variant is the true first issue, w/ high production value, i.e. thicker stock, slightly larger, & less pages.
 
Published by Samuel Roth, a New York City bookstore owner who published erotica & operated a mail-order business (Continental Books, Paragon Books, Confidential Books, Beacon Books). No stranger to accusations of copyright infringement, Roth routinely published works by D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce, & Jean Giraudoux, so much of the content of these magazines was suspect w/ similar regard to copyright. He also wrote & illustrated, as well as helped loosen tightening censorship laws, notably in the 1957 Supreme Court case, Roth v. United States, when he won the minority decision & ignited Constitutional protection for expression previously censored. The case has since become a template for the liberalizing First Amendment decisions of the 1960s. Notable appearances by British illustrator Ronald Searle are also featured, at a time when he was publishing cartoons in The New Yorker, Sunday Express, Life, Holiday, Punch, & other popular newsstand titles. Roughly 25 issues before folding. A handful of library holdings in the US.
 
Included: Volume 1: N1 1953 (2x), N4 1953, N6 1954, N7 [1954], N8 1954, N11 1954, N12 1954. Volume 2: N13 1955, N15 1955, N16 1955, N17 1955, N18 1955, N19 1955, N20 1955, N21 1956. B/W throughout, ~64pp, 5 x 7.5 in, saddle-stapled.
 
Very Good overall, 2 w/ detached & split but present wrappers.
 
Todd Frye, "Collection Vintage Men's Magazines," 2013.
 
Full collation details upon request. [Book ID 125946] [Magazines]