Thursday, August 30, 2007

Paperback 9 - Brandon House 705

Paperback 9: Brandon House 705 (PBO, 1964)

Title: Lesbian Starlet
Author: Tony Trelos
Cover artist: Unknown (there might be the faintest trace of a signature in the very lower left corner, but I can't make it out)

PRICE: SOLD! (4-12-08)


Best things about this cover:

  • The title
  • The world's least sexy office
  • The mannish, silver-haired executive with the vacant stare who looks like a blow-up sex doll - is she taking her own temperature or pointing to some dental problem she's having, because whatever she's doing, she sure as hell isn't smoking
  • "I paid for a lap dance, not a desk dance"
  • "And thus concludes part 1 of my bra-removal seminar..."

I like trying to imagine what kind of interaction could possibly have led to the moment depicted on the cover. The back cover is a cheap, two-tone close-up of the front cover, with some choice copy:
Brandon House publishers did a lot of lesbian and other sex-themed paperbacks. The lesbian paperback was a major, popular niche market in early paperback fiction, and lesbian paperbacks are now very, very collectible. This is the most valuable book I've featured so far from my collection. Condition and scarcity and desirability are the three main features that determine resale value. This book is scarce and desirable, but there are a few condition problems. Condition here is a VG (Very Good) - there are some scuffs, and it's a bit dingy, but it's almost perfectly square and appears to be unread (no reading crease on the cover near the spine). It's probably worth around $35-40, and I wouldn't part with it for under $50. I do love the trashy, cheap paperbacks, and there are many, many more to come...

RP

4 comments:

Michael5000 said...

I'm speechless... except to say that this is one supercool collection you've got going, Rex.

Rex Parker said...

Yeah, I'm really happy to have a forum in which I can show it off, even if you and I are about the only people admiring them - the books just sit in plastic bags on shelves, otherwise.

rp

Anonymous said...

Oh, I'm admiring them too, Rex. I can't wait to see what you'll feature next! I'm still laughing over the "world's least supportive bra" comment from a few entries ago.

Where did you get these, again? Since I'm newly recruited to eBay and thrilled at what I'm able to sell that I didn't realize had value, I might need to branch out and buy things that I can resell, too. I find the whole idea of markets fascinating; if we'd had eBay when we had to take econ in school, I might have paid more attention. ;)

Anonymous said...

I love these covers. I have a few books which were issued to G.I.'s during WWII. They were designed to fit in the uniform pocket. They're fairly hard to come by because I think they were read and passed on until they disintegrated. They're in pretty terrible condition, but my daughter got an A+ and I got a call from her teacher last year raving about her report about WWII. Her artifacts included her granddad's uniform, a leather wallet with letters from his best gal (my mom) and the books.