Eros was an American quarterly political and literary magazine that published only four volumes in 1962.[1][2] The New York Times described Eros as a “stunningly designed hardcover ‘magbook’,” covering “a wide swath of sexuality in history, politics, art and literature.”[2] The magazine was the first product of Ralph Ginzburg and Herb Lubalin who later created two other influential magazines, namely Fact and Avant Garde.[3]
| Editor | Ralph Ginzburg |
|---|---|
| Categories |
|
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Founder |
|
| Founded | 1962 |
| First issue | Spring 1962 |
| Final issue | Winter 1962 |
| Country | USA |
| Based in | New York City |
| Language | English |
History and profile
editThe first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1962.[2] Ralph Ginzburg was the editor and Herb Lubalin was the art director of Eros[1] which came out quarterly.[4] The focus of the magazine was on love and sex during the dawning of the Sexual Revolution.[1][2] It also covered articles on politics, arts and literature.[2]
The third (Autumn, 1962) of a total of 4 issues of the magazine published featured the photographs of Marilyn Monroe just before her death which caused an obscenity lawsuit against Ginzburg by then U.S. Attorney General, Robert Kennedy.[1] The magazine sold nearly 150,000 copies of this issue.[4] The reason for the lawsuit was the claim that the magazine had violated federal anti-obscenity laws.[2] Ginzburg was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, but he remained in prison for eight months.[2] Following this incident the magazine was closed down.[3]
In 2017 Mindy Seu created a website which contains the digital copies of Eros.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Ginzburg, Ralph". The Beautiful American. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "A Complete Digitization of Eros Magazine: The Controversial 1960s Magazine on the Sexual Revolution". Open Culture. May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "Eros, Fact and Avant Garde". Design is History. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ a b L.A. Powe, Jr. (July 2010). "The Obscenity Bargain: Ralph Ginzburg for Fanny Hill". Journal of Supreme Court History. 35 (2): 168–169. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5818.2010.01239.x. S2CID 247666217.