Michael Dowers

This is a selection of the erotic pulp fiction artwork produced in the USA in the earlier twentieth Century, which went under the name 'Tijuana Bibles' in an attempt to mask its true anonymous origins. The originals would have been written off as 'dirty books' in their era. The style adopted here magnifies individual frames of the cartoons at least as far as the original print quality allows. The selection shown includes representations of many of the inter-personal activities considered perverted (unpublishable) at the time, including animals and some erotic chastisement. One example included, 'Travelin' Preacher' is unusually long. In retrospect the art form appears unnecessarily scatological, and with an intention to shock as well as titillate that will strike many as very juvenile, but examples such as these represent a historically relevant sector of the popular north american culture of its time.… (meer)