24 - Sam Steward (American, 1909-1993)

Sam Steward (American, 1909-1993) Love Poems: Homage to Housman, 1984. Signed and numbered 1st edition. 22 pages, soft cover. Edition 'G' of 26 lettered copies. Illustrations by Steward featured throughout. Annotations made by Steward in red ink also present. Hand-signed by Samuel M. Steward in red with a dedication to the academic Mark Bassett on page 22. Numbered in red ink on the same page, "G" of 26 lettered editions. Steward, Samuel. Love Poems: Homage to Housman. First edition. Oakland, California: ManRoot & Neon Sun, 1984. 9 7/16 x 6 1/8 in. (24 x 15.6 cm.) Notes: Samuel Steward (1909 - 1993) was an American university professor, novelist, poet, tattoo artist, illustrator, and pornographer who is best remembered as a chronicler of 20th-century gay culture through his collaborations with the Kinsey Institute. Throughout his life, he produced a substantial body of erotic art and literature documenting queer sexuality and BDSM subcultures in the United States. Steward’s visual art is often overshadowed by his reputation as a sexual renegade and chronicler of 20th-century gay life. Working primarily with homoerotic themes, he was a prolific illustrator who often signed his artwork as Philip (von Chicago) in homage to his pen name as a novelist. Through a commercial arrangement with Thor Enterprises, his homoerotic drawings were marketed to a national audience through advertisements in Physique Pictorial. As a skid row tattooist and gay man in Chicago, his chosen subjects reflect his taste for illustrating soldiers, sailors, leatherfolk, rough trade, and other embodiments of rugged masculinity. Published in 2010 in a limited edition of 1,000 copies, An Obscene Diary: The Visual World of Sam Steward collects a substantial body of Steward’s homoerotic artwork contributing to a broader reassessment of his significance as a visual artist. Provenance Property of Mark Bassett, acquired form the artist. Condition Minor vertical abrasion and some curling along the edge of the dust-jacket; nothing adverse to note on the pages. For further condition details or additional images, please contact info@vallots.com