MATTACHINE BOOK SERVICE New York City Gay Scene Guide

Sale 2613 - Lot 221

Price Realized: $ 3,900

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

[MATTACHINE BOOK SERVICE]

New York City Gay Scene Guide.
"Vol. #2, Complete 1969 Edition." 32 pages including wrappers. Octavo, original staple-bound illustrated wrappers, minor wear; numerous inked notes and marks including a light "X" through the Stonewall listing; early owner's inked stamp on title page. New York: Apollo Book Co., 1968.

This guide was issued in late 1968, just a few months before the Stonewall Rebellion. The Stonewall is named in the listings of Manhattan bars: "It continues operating amid persistent rumors of closing. Caters to a younger crowd who seem to spend all their time perfecting their dancing. Observers note that 'go-go-boys' installed on platforms have failed to attract the dwindling crowds." The recent prosecution of the club's mobster co-owner for extortion and larceny is also discussed. In addition to the listings and ads, the guide includes longer pieces on political activism, the "Gay Cruising Scene," the Homosexual Bill of Rights, and "Wave of Killings Shock Homosexual Community." Other annual and quarterly editions of this guide were issued by the Mattachine Book Service, which is uncredited here but actually held the copyright per "The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History," page 326.

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WITH--"How to Get There, Where to Stay, Where to Eat, Where to Play: Fire Island." Numerous illustrations. 88 pages. Octavo, original color illustrated wrappers, abrasions and other minor wear. Ocean Beach, NY: Trigar Publishing, 1986. Includes substantial descriptions of the well-established gay resort communities of Cherry Grove (pages 17-20) and Fire Island Pines (27-29), covering both local history and modern culture, including still-extant spots such as the Ice Palace and Top o' the Bay.