UNTITLED TIJUANA BIBLE, WITH ILLUSTRATED WRAPPERS.

[np: @1930s]. Oblong 16mo, original illustrated wrappers, 8pp. Near Fine.

A common theme for these Bibles: respectable married man tells a young woman he wants to "buy a little of your kiester if we could get it over before my wife comes back from the store." The activities progress in graphic detail.
Tijuana Bibles "were produced by a shadowy criminal underground in the 1930s. Very little hard information is available about how the Bibles were created, where they were manufactured, and how they were distributed. One certain fact, confirmed by numerous anecdotes, is that these comic books were for many young men their first peek into the forbidden world of erotic intimacy" [Adelman]. They were crudely printed and illustrated porn tract-comic books. The skimpy stories featured contemporary movie, sports, folk, political and cartoon characters in absurdly hyperbolic sexual relations. Why they're called Tijuana Bibles is a matter of speculation; 'Tijuana' was typically associated with iniquity and as an outlet for behavior considered impermissible elsewhere. Properly considered the ancestor of America's underground comics, Tijuana Bibles declined in popularity in the 1960's as mainstream publications like Playboy would satisfy readers' prurient interests.
Adelman, Tijuana Bibles. Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies. 1930s-1950s. [1997]. Item #33601

Price: $60.00

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