Dian Hanson’s: The History of Men’s Magazine – Vol. 5 - 1970’s - At the Newsstand

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Dian Hanson’s: The History of Men’s Magazine – Vol. 6 - 1970’s – Under the Counter

It should be stated right off the bat that only a company as brilliant as Taschen could publish a multi-volume, encyclopedic ode to men’s magazines, and have it turn out as beautiful as a classic hard cover coffee table art book should be.

We are starting with volumes 5 & 6 simply because these volumes cover the sexiest decade ever, the 1970’s, and bring us back to the first time we ever caught a glance of the elusive nude female in a magazine.

We don’t have to tell anyone addicted to Taschen’s output of open-minded and envelope-pushing, sexy coffee table books that Dian Hanson is a tireless genius. She has been involved with some of the most beautiful publications we have ever seen, and with these beautiful volumes, it is apparent that she has no intention of slowing down.

If you are interested in vintage erotica or are a fan of the 1970’s, you must have these informative books. Each chapter is filled with rich information regarding the norms and attitudes of the era, and how men’s magazines were produced and regarded. Volume 5 focuses on a more accepted or mainstream aspect, (where volume 6 is decidedly the more sexually explicit of the volumes and focuses on the more graphic magazines of the decade.)

Each beautiful volume details the history of these topics and includes covers, art and images from various countries and subjects.

If the rest of the series is as complete as these two volumes, we look forward to reviewing the rest of them, and hope this series continues for decades to come.

Terry Osterhout
January 2006