Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 52 - P.E.C. French Line Books, 2 of 8

Acquired Tastes XLIII:

Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 52

P.E.C. French Line Books, 2 of 8

Today, we continue to take a look at PEC (Publishers Export Company) French Line books. As with most such publishers, little is known about the company. Censorship laws at the time made secrecy a necessary component when publishing books of this nature; only the most brazen operators left a paper trail. Operating out of San Diego, CA, the PEC French Line books were published from 1966-1971, though the company itself was active, publishing several imprints starting in (at least) 1965.

The French Line series includes 101 titles (two of which are reissues of previous titles in the series), and ends in 1971 (as, apparently, did the company).

One of the aspects that distinguish French Line books is the quality of their cover art, which went through four distinct periods. Also of note, their stable of writers which included Carl Corley, Len Harrington, Vin Saxon/Jay Horn (Ron Haydock), Ed Wood, Jr. and Eve Linkletter.

Up until the first change in the direction of their cover art, all books featured the tagline, "The Finest In Adult Reading." The titles shared today mark the start of the company's use of their distinctive 'Eiffel Tower' logo, which, from this point on, was to appear in some form on all titles in the series.

While the bulk of the titles published under the French Line imprint are gay male-oriented, there are a number of lesbian titles sprinkled in the mix, as well as a single hetero-oriented novel. For continuities sake, I've included those titles here, as well.

I did my best to track down what covers I could. Unfortunately, there are holes in the company's history - either numbers skipped or titles lost to history, for, despite their numbering system, I was unable to identify even the title of several of their (probable) offerings.

Let's take a look at the next dozen...

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Stripper Dyke

Author: Anita Wright

Cover Art: Doug Weaver

 PEC FL-13

Initially, I thought this was Carl Corley's The Purple Ring, because it is the only  cover to not include a catalog number on the cover. But it turns out The Purple Ring is actually PEC FL-39. Then I thought that, perhaps, they'd skipped the number altogether due to some superstitious belief. However, while trying to locate PEC FL-40, I happened on the above little number.

That title! And don't you just love those boots her off-stage butch is wearing? Looks a little like Doris Day, huh? Well, glad I finally found this one. I am such a completist. 

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Male Model

Author: Win Haven

Cover Art: Carl Corley

PEC FL-14

From the back cover:

"The trials and tribulations of a handsome young man as he comes to grips with his sexuality. He eventually learns to use his body to get what he wants. Sometimes successfully, sometimes tragically."

Note the hint of a tragic ending? Corley's The Purple Ring description also makes reference to such. It was standard fare. In order to write about homosexuality, stories had to include a bad ending for those engaging in the behavior. It was a way to stay remain in the censors' good graces. 

Then, there's the matter of this cover, with the giant floating head. I've never understood why an artist would feel utilizing such a device (and many did) was a good idea. I found a source that credited this cover to Carl Corley, who, at one point said, "One of my ambitions (was) to be the greatest male physique artist of all." 

Did he succeed?

 

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Hollywood Homo

Author: Michael Starr

PEC FL-15

From the inside page:

"Beautiful. That's Randy Nelson. Homosexual... That's Randy Nelson. A good lay - that's Randy Nelson! A specialist in pleasing men - that's Randy Nelson. The most educated and experienced lips and tongue in town - that's Randy Nelson! Randy Nelson is one of the beautiful people, but there's nothing unique about that in Hollywood; it's jammed with beautiful people - male, female and some whose sexual identity is in question..."

Note the price increase; the first of four during the imprints lifespan. Given the quality of the cover art, which had to be commissioned and paid for, the quality of the writing (if Carl Corley's works are any indication), and factoring in inflation? A price increase represents more than a money grab on the part of the publisher. Producing works of this quality was a pricey endeavor representative of an old business model that, by the mid-1970's, would be done away with as publishing standards became more lax and companies looked for ways to increase profit. 

Strangely, while the price for gay male oriented novels increased, lesbian themed books remained at the old price of 95 cents. Just another example of women earning less money in the workplace? 

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Two-Way Street

Author: Rita Wilde

PEC FL-16

Ah, love on a two-way street! I haven't delved much into the mystique of lesbian pulp fiction, but I have noticed, at least in this era, that if two women are on the cover, one is always depicted as 'the butch.' I know that such definitions have become passé in this age of pan-sexual gender blending (as it should be), but there's something quaint, nostalgic and naïve about the notion of such defined, traditional roles. Gay folk, due to constant oppressive repression, on either their own part or the part of society as a whole, were really unable to self-define; believing that in order to 'fit in' they had to adapt to and adopt hetero-normative narratives. I'm not saying that 'the butch' is a type that doesn't or didn't exist, I'm merely pointing out that, at the time these novels were written, the inclusion of such a role was rather constant due to a lack of a broader understanding of the nature of sexuality. Fluid is a rather recent concept - one that's come about because, well, quite frankly, gay folk, at least in more developed countries, are able to breathe a bit more freely. 

Back then, the concept of suffocating in a closet was a very real thing. And this is why universities must teach gay studies; it's incredibly important that, in order to truly appreciate the freedoms we enjoy today, we possess knowledge of what our brothers and sisters had to endure and overcome in the past.   

Brazen Image

Author: Carl Corley

PEC FL-17

From back cover:
"Dewy Bow – Female Impersonator or Homosexual?"

From the inside page:

"I am a star…

…a male in the role of a female; and as that star, I have become, on the stage, the very essence of Woman. Not woman in the physical sense: bosomy, too loose hipped, with an obvious strut, too vampy. But woman ethereal… woman sublime… with her personality a mask that allows us to project our own feelings, desire, dreams, and hungers upon her… like the mask of the ancient theatre.

This is an art, and I have mastered it, this playing the part of a woman in the body of a male. And that is all it has ever meant to me: a part on a stage, a part that dies the minute I walk off and into my own male world… until I am again in the arms of my male lover."

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Olga

Author: Nita Wright

PEC FL-18

More Butch/Fem lore. And, again, artwork that seems to be of another era. I rather respect the boots that one woman is wearing. I certainly wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of her!

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Gay Whore

Author: Jack Love

PEC FL-19 

This is an unauthorized biography. I had no idea anyone had written a book about little old me!

How liberating. And I thought slut pride was something new. Of course, when you're a young, blonde twink? You can take pride in everything. You get to be my age and it gets to be a bit sad - like Lola at the Copacabana after it becomes a disco. "Faded feathers in her hair..." and those same old underwear.

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Part-Time Lez

Author: Kris Van Dyke

PEC FL-20

That pseudonym! More Butch/Fem lore. Though this cover is meant to appeal to an audience outside the lesbian community. I could see a lot of hetero males getting heated up by all that flesh displayed.

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Queer Guise

Author: Mark Dunn

PEC FL-21

I adore this title. So clever. And in 1967! Mark Dunn is credited with four books in the genre; three for PEC's French Line series and one for Greenleaf Classics' A Pleasure Reader imprint. This cover is a curious thing. Exactly what is that doctor staring so intently at? And why is blondie's physique so... odd? That chest/tum-tum ratio? Typically not something seen on a man his age. He has the body of a 1950's 50-something banker. 

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Cover Not Found

"69" Gay Street

Author: Ben Carter

PEC FL-22

This book is one of two books which the publisher would reissue with a new catalogue number and a different cover (I would love to see the original cover.) Unfortunately, I was unable to find this, the first, version of the book, but never fear; more on this one later.

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Gay Cruise

Author: Carl Driver

PEC FL-23

Huh. Check out the posturing on this cover! A fine example of when 'cruise' is used as a verb. Looks like someone's about to get some major action. 

A Description by Maitland McDonagh, editor at 120 Days Books

"An aging Hollywood call boy who knows his sell-by date is nigh buys a yacht and turns it into a floating brothel in this clever adults-only novel. Trust me -- it's good, dirty fun."

Gay Cruise was actually scheduled to be the next release by 120 Days Books, Maitland's publishing company re-issuing/rescuing classic gay pulp fiction, but was put on hold when a larger publisher showed an interest in picking up the imprint. Sadly, that is the last that was heard on the topic.120 Days Books seems to have been shuttered and, although I have reached out to Maitland for comment or an update, I've learned nothing more about what happened to either the pending merger/takeover or the future of the imprint/project.

A preview of this book was actually included in one of the 120 Days Books Kindle versions that I recently read. It struck me as rather promising; the story of a floating gay brothel. 

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A Lover Mourned 

Author: Carl Corley

PEC FL-24

From Toros vs. Mannequins: Carl Corley and Queer Identity in the American South by Hanna Givens

"Corley used his platform to write semi-autobiographical novels exploring different aspects of his Southern background, and some of his most interesting content comes in his character descriptions and plots. He spent uncounted pages exploring ideas about queerness and preoccupation with terminology. Corley rarely used the words 'homosexual' or 'gay,' finding them too medical and too feminine-sounding respectively, although he was aware of both. 'Queer' seemed to be a word serviceable in a variety of contexts, one he could expect to be understood, but it was not initially enough."

Corley peppered his works with passages or speeches, such as this eulogy given in 1967's A Lover Mourned:

"But in this society, … this love of man for man is not a thing which will last. … Someday, maybe it will last. But not now. It’s impossible. We are doomed and condemned and damned from the start. We are pointed out on the streets, made the butt of ill-timed jokes, ridiculed, and sneered at. There is no place that we can go and hide and live out the burning energy of such a love. We cannot live together with a lover because the law will evict us, and if not the law then the people who are our neighbors."

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And that's all for today. We have another 76 titles to take a look at.

I'm continuing to enjoy these covers; of a higher quality than some that we've looked at - more akin to the early days of the Greenleaf Classics imprints. 

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.  

Thanks for reading!

Love On A Two Way Street - Stacy Lattisaw

(For Anne Marie in Philly)