Carl Breuer-Courth
Eugène Réunier, a pseudonym for German artist Carl Breuer-Courth, significantly influenced early 20th-century erotic art. His 1925 portfolio, Autour de l’Amour, depicted themes of dominance and submission, pioneering visual narratives for the kink community. Réunier’s legacy intertwines with the dismantling of Victorian taboos, preserving crucial aspects of BDSM history. Continue reading Carl Breuer-Courth
Bifurcated Girls
In the late Victorian and Edwardian era (1870–1910), a “bifurcated girl” was any woman bold enough to wear divided skirts, bloomers, or the new cycling knickers. One skirt became two legs. One modest silhouette became two scandalous outlines. Society didn’t see fashion; it saw rebellion. A woman who literally split herself was no longer “one” under God and man. She had stepped out of line. … Continue reading Bifurcated Girls
Mata Hari: The Myth, the Dancer, the Scapegoat
Margaretha Zelle, born in 1876 in Leeuwarden, escaped an abusive marriage by reinventing herself as Mata Hari, Paris’s most celebrated exotic dancer and courtesan. In 1917 France, desperate for a scapegoat, executed her as a German spy on flimsy evidence. Survivor, performer, myth: the original femme fatale was simply a woman trying to live.
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Leonard Burtman: America’s Underground Fetish Publisher
Leonard Burtman (1921-1994) was a pioneer in fetish publishing in mid-20th century New York. Founding Burmel Publishing, he launched iconic magazines like Exotique, blending high fashion with BDSM themes. Despite legal challenges and allegations of piracy, Burtman expanded his empire, shaping modern kink aesthetics and influencing future adult content until the 1980s. Continue reading Leonard Burtman: America’s Underground Fetish Publisher
Charles Gates Sheldon
Charles Gates Sheldon (1888–1960) didn’t set out to be a fetishist. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he trained at the Art Students League in New York under luminaries like George Bridgman. By 1916 he was already the go-to illustrator for The Ladies’ Home Journal, turning out soft-focus cover girls in pastel and charcoal that made every reader believe beauty was just one sigh away.But Sheldon wasn’t … Continue reading Charles Gates Sheldon
Rudolf Franz Lehnert
Rudolf Franz Lehnert (1878–1948) was a photographer known for his romanticized portrayals of North African women. He co-founded Lehnert & Landrock, a studio that thrived on artistic postcard production. Critics label his work as ethnocentric. Lehnert’s legacy endures through surviving glass plates, valued by collectors and historians alike. Continue reading Rudolf Franz Lehnert
Glamour, Mystery, and the Birth of Stylish Bondage
In 1949, a mysterious model posed for Mr. Steinberg in Newcastle upon Tyne, capturing avant-garde images never collected. Although linked to a local photography shop, Steinberg’s identity remains unknown. The photos, showcasing stylish bondage, emerged in 2010, blending elegance with themes of power and surrender amid post-war Britain’s fashion landscape. Continue reading Glamour, Mystery, and the Birth of Stylish Bondage
Charles Guyette
Charles Guyette (c. 1900–1976) was a pioneering theatrical costumer who transformed his New York shop into America’s first full-line fetish supplier by the mid-1930s. Notably, he offered handmade fetish items and imported European designs. After a prison sentence for obscenity, he shifted focus but inspired key figures in American kink culture. Continue reading Charles Guyette
Marian Wawrzeniecki
Marian Wawrzeniecki (c. 1863–1943) was a Polish painter, archaeologist, and art historian who melded the ancient with the erotic. His work, inspired by Slavic mythology, features themes of desire and mortality. His unique blend of pagan dominance and sensuality prefigures modern BDSM art, leaving a lasting legacy of profound emotional truth. Continue reading Marian Wawrzeniecki
Paul Prött
Paul Prött (c. 1880–1945), a German artist, transformed personal tragedy into a powerful voice in Weimar erotica. His works, influenced by his WWI experiences, melded commercial design with BDSM themes. Prött’s stark black-and-white pieces, featuring raw power dynamics, anticipated later kink aesthetics, making his originals highly sought after. Continue reading Paul Prött
