Sepia Pin Up Calendar Storefront original photograph collection Jim Linderman

Sepia Pin Up Calendar Storefront.  This snapshot likely shows a photo studio associated with Sepia Magazine, which ran over 35 years but never achieved the reputation of the competitor Ebony or the mini-digest Jet.  Still, it was a popular media source for the Black country within the country.  Starting in 1947, Sepia was published in Texas by Good Publishing Company.  Good was also responsible for the few African-American scandal magazines of the mid 20th Century.  Hep, Jive and Bronze Thrills also came from Good.  Interestingly, The owner was a white man named George Levitan, but the staff was largely African-American, and Mr. Levitan was a civil rights supporter.

This could be a satellite office.  The magazine had nation-wide distribution, so it is possible a studio looking for glamour shots of African-American women would be in NYC or Chicago.  It is also possible this was simply a storefront set up by an anonymous photographer using the Sepia name.  What better way to attract talent?  There is a similar snapshot for sale on a website which identifies the date around 1930, but that is unlikely.

There is so little documentation of early African-American pinups.  My book Secret Life of the Black Pin-up is out of print., but many of the images have been shared and posted by others.  The phrase "Black is Beautiful" was intended to wake up all races…African-American residents were so abused, even they had doubts.  Yes, Black women are beautiful and they had their own subculture of pin-up beauty, but the history is buried and the issues scarce.

One reason so few of the original Good Publications magazines are seen today is due to the "pass-along rate."  Unlike, for example, issues of National Geographic, which are stockpiled in many garages in nearly mint but moldy condition, most of the race magazines were shared over and over until they wore out.  They cost from 25 to 35 cents…and before the 1960s, there was little disposable income for the minority.  They were seldom collected by libraries.  A few examples of Good Magazines are shown here.

See also HERE and HERE. 
Original snapshot Sepia Pin-Up Calendar Storefront.  No date, circa 1955?  Collection Jim Linderman.  Jim Linderman's book The Birth of Rock and Roll published by Dust to Digital is available for purchase HERE and HERE.

  

BRONZE THRILLS ! George Levitan Goes Black and Goes Smutty

Astoundingly, or maybe not...Bronze Thrills was published by a Caucasian.  George Levitan.  Not only that, Levitan was originally from the Upper Pennisula of Michigan and once said he never even saw a Black person until he was 18 years old,  according to Texas Monthly magazine in October 1983.  As a teen, Levitan moved to Detroit but he didn't stay long.  He moved to Forth Worth, Texas and bought the Good Publishing Company.  It was a good move.  Bronze Thrills was already being published, but George spiced it up a bit (as you can see)  more and commenced becoming a very rich man.

Not only Bronze Thrills (Breaking the Cross-Dressing barrier here with the story of a husband who got his kicks wearing women's clothes) but Hep, Jive, Sepia, Soul Confessions, Soul Teen and Soul Confessions.  A one-man Black publishing empire which was white!

That isn't to say George was a creep.  He hired African-American workers, trained them well, paid them well and promoted them to important positions.  Sure, the magazine was thrashy, but at the time there really wasn't much else for the race.  Soon his primary title, Sepia, was a moving force in the Black community.  He also helped raise funds for the United Negro College Fund. 

Issue of Bronze Thrills  "Thrill Girls: Men meant only sex and a good time to me" and "My Husband was a Transvestitie: He got his kicks from wearing women's clothes"  December 1966 Issue  Original  Collection Jim Linderman

THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL book available HERE