“Lust Unearthed: Vintage Gay Graphics from the DuBek Collection”–graphically bold

Waugh, Thomas. “Lust Unearthed: Vintage Gay Graphics from the DuBek Collection”, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004.

Graphically Bold

Amos Lassen

Thomas Waugh seems to know where to find and then collect early gay erotic drawings. He has two volumes of them out. “Lust Unearthed” is a collection of drawings from the DuBek Collection which was housed in almost fifty large document boxes and is very, very erotic. DuBek had collected magazines and pen and inks between 1927 and the 1990’s but the majority of the collection come form the 60’s and 70’s at which time gay male erotic culture came above ground. DuBek had catalogued them before his death and it is absolutely amazing. It did not become public until after his death but we have much of it now in this extensive book. Waugh went through the collection and chose certain selections for us. What we have is one of a kind—a representation of homoerotic doodles salvaged from before Stonewall. Waugh gathered it together obviously with love and the drawings are funny, sexy and very erotic. It is a fantastic historical document.

Waugh gives us the political and social climate for the drawings. The drawings themselves depict all aspects of male homosexual behavior There are more than 200 drawings contained in “Lust Unearthed” all from the apartment of Ambrose DuBek who was a film and television designer from the 40’s to the 60’s. He as a passionate advocate and patron of the arts who felt that not just life was to be celebrated but the body as well. What he had were frank, explicit, sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous depictions of men. They were created by both famous and unknown artists and were produced at a time when nude male drawings were illegal thereby making them rare.

Waugh has written a remarkable narrative that is an interesting history lesson which sheds light on a culture once clothed in darkness. Here is gay porn for the man who thinks. The book not only sensually arouses but beguiles.