?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500
(EROTICA--TRANSVESTITES AND CROSS DRESSERS) A rare group of 146 photographs of transvestites, cross dressers, and female impersonators, all published by Irving Klaw Studios. Silver prints, sizes ranging from 4 1/8x2 1/4 to 4 1/2x3 1/2 inches (10.5x5.7 to 11.4x8.9 cm.), most with the FI number in the print; divided by subject into small glassine sleeves. Circa 1950s
with--One of Irving Klaw's Bulletin catalogues headlining Female Impersonators, and also including numerous examples of other images clients might purchase, such as "Bondage Poses!," "Women of History Dominating Males," and "Hollywood Fighting Girl Photos." 4to, 2 photo-pictorial sheets, each folded.
Irving Klaw sold photographs of movie stars, pin-ups, and other glamour and cheesecake photographs from his storefront on East 14th Street. Eventually, in the 1950s, he created his own studio, and expanded to include fetish attire and bondage scenes, usually with two women. Klaw, most famous for his photographs of Bettie Page and run-in with censorship in the late 1950s, was responsive to photographers who sent him their work for consideration for sale via his catalogues. Out of those submissions Klaw created categories with series letters and numbers. One of the series that came from submissions is the "F.I." series (female impersonators)--included are both amateur photographers (some of whom seem to be creating self-portraits) and professional work, which seem to depict performers or entertainers.
