GAY
A nearly consecutive and complete run, more than 100 issues, of this pioneering periodical of post-Stonewall journalism.
Generally very good to near fine.
Price: $10,000.00
GAY
"If you were gay and wanted to find out what was going on in the world, you turned to GAY." — Lilli Vincenz
Edited by Lige Clarke and Jack Nichols, GAY was the first gay weekly in the US (Streitmatter, 123). While it was financed and published by Al Goldstein (of the decidedly more sensational SCREW), GAY was noteworthy for its journalistic bent, eschewing much of the camp of previous gay periodicals like DRUM as well as the more editorial approaches of ONE or THE LADDER in favor of more proper reportage, with a dedicated staff of correspondents. This approach grew in part out of necessity: "Unlike most gay and lesbian publications, GAY was not affiliated with an activist organization [...] It was a business" (Streitmatter, 122).
GAY aimed for a large audience and found it. Within its first year GAY's coverage of news, politics, culture, homophobic discrimination, and the like earned it "the largest circulation in the history of the lesbian and gay press" (Streitmatter,123). As such, it was not only a landmark but also a turning point in gay journalism, attracting "some of the best writers in Queer America" (Sears, 230). Lacking only five issues of Clarke and Nichols' editorship (the last issue they edited was #105 from summer 1973), GAY limped along on and off for several more years after their departure. Yet their legacy can be seen in the original reporting taken up by publications like THE ADVOCATE, THE WASHINGTON BLADE, CHRISTOPHER STREET, and others. Important, and rare as such a substantive run.
Read more: Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America; Sears, "Jack Nichols" in Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context.
The Object
New York: Four Swords, Inc, (1969 - 1973). Generally 17'' x 12''. Original photographic newsprint self-wrappers all. Numbers 1-67, 69 and 69-b [a mis-numbering — no issue 68 was published], 70-72, 74-92, 94, 97-98, 100-106. Some mild toning throughout, as common. Edgewear here and there. Overall, remarkably well preserved.
The Fine Print
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