Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 174 - Impact Library, Part 2 of 2

Acquired Tastes XLIII: 

Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 174

Impact Library

Part 2 of 2

This is the second of two posts about the Impact Library imprint. 

I found very little information about Impact Library or it's publisher, Echelon Book Publishers, Inc.

They operated out of Los Angeles, CA at 5525 Wilshire Boulevard and published titles under the Impact Library imprint from 1967-1974. The bulk of their titles skewed hetero, with a great deal of attention focused on niche kink - whips, bondage, torture, women deflowering young boys, incest, oral sex, sex workers, interracial relationships, nature lovers, and all things then considered perverse. On the plus side, they had a handful of titles devoted to lesbian sex and about 20 titles dealing with gay males - a number of which were inspired by or translations of classic European titles along with the usual 'report' style books, purporting to be actual case histories/files. 

They certainly liked to fan a flame... take for example this tagline from 1971's I Never Touched Susie Harberger: "He was a sex-sick rapist, transvestite, animalist, male whore, yet his passions went like an arrow toward females." That covers a lot of ground, don't you think?

The cover art  for the gay male titles is pretty tame, but worth a look, as it is a part of gay history. Remember, these books did all they could to skirt their way around the censorship and obscenity laws of the time. 

So, let's take a look at the rest of the gay titles, one of which I own. 

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Other Than a Man

Author: W. F Mosher 

1968

 IL-241 

Impact Library 

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Lavender Lads

Author: Barry Crandall 

 1968 

IL-243 

Impact Library 

According to a note on Hommi Publishing's big ass list, this one is about "male guests at an exclusive resort."

We learned all about Barry Crandall last week... about as odd as they come.

I actually own a copy of this one. I believe I got it for $35. It's never been read! There's one for sale at AbeBooks for $199!

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Le Pouffe

Author: Lavor Mollet

 1968 

IL-310 

Impact Library 

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The Anal Delight

Author: James Harvey

1968

IL-315

Impact Library

(Cover Not Found)

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The Muscle Swappers

Author: Barry Crandall 

1968 

IL-328 

Impact Library

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The Singing Wind

 Author: Rod McGraw

 1968 

IL-332

Impact Library

According to a note on Hommi Publishing's big ass list, this one is about "an Indian and a white man." Probably this imprint's attempt to cash in on the runaway popularity of Richard Emory's Song Of The Loon.

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 Another Room-Another Brother

Author: James Harper

1968

 IL-340 

Impact Library

Given the title, I assumed it was about incest. 

A deviant hitchhiker? Rough men? On the road? Sign me up! 

Available as a downloadable ebook or PDF at Hommi Publishing for $1.25!

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Melody of Spring

Author: H. L. Trocci

1968 

IL-342 

Impact Library 

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Lavender Cage

Author: Hal Webb

 1969 

IL-343 

Impact Library

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Gay Stallions

Author: Robert Douglas 

1970 

IL-557

Impact Library

(Cover Not Found)

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And that's all for now.

Next week: more tantalizing vintage gay pulp titles as we explore another imprint!

Until then...

Thanks for reading!

 

Melody In Spring - Lanny Ross

from the 1934 motion picture Melody In Spring