Full view of image area
The artist's signature lower left
The artwork as it appeared as the cover for The Blonde
A wildly erotic and revealed pin-up girl cover painting by the well regarded and prolific American illustrator and cover artist Paul Rader, for the 1960 Midwood Book titled "The Blonde". Part of what is today considered the golden age of lesbian pulp fiction, "The Blonde" tells the story of a tormented working girl who finds herself drawn away from men and towards women after a history of sexual assault, and her awakening to her identity as a bisexual. Written by Peggy Swanson (a pseudonym for Richard E. Geis) this lurid paperback is very much in keeping with the cultural myths that were prevalent about lesbianism at the time, and as the cover shows, describes the lifestyle in terms explicitly intended to titillate men as well as women. Cover copy reads: "Peggy wanted to marry and lead a normal life, but a voice that she heard since childhood kept saying, 'Never trust a man. Men will hurt you.'" The preview before the title page reads "...From now on, you're a working girl. You "specialize" in fems and butches. You're on call... for a hundred bucks a trick."
Detail of "Peggy"
Back cover paperback image and text
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