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"Brevities," Tabloid of the 20s/30s
and it took lots of potshots at fags,
pansies and the rest of us

I highly recommend George Chaucey's book "Gay New York"......
as one of the best resources for a look at our culture.

   

And for those like me who love the details, they would have noticed with
interest his mention of the tabloids "Brevities," or "Broadway Brevities,"
from the 1920's and 1930's. Above right is just a sampling of Chauncey's
references to the publication.

So you can see there is a rich history into the gay subculture, though a not
very available one. I do not have his resources, but I recently had access to
about twenty copies of "Brevities" from 1932 through 1934. And I was especially
pleased that they included one (November 23, 1933) with the front-page
headline "Fags Tickle Nudes," and the sub-headlines: "Poshy Steam
Rooms Pander to Pansies" "Joyboys on Make for Lurid Lushes."
As these are so, So rare I am sharing what I found touching gay
culture from that issue and the others.

 

   

  

No author given, but I sure would like to read that publication,
though I have found the ad below

from April 11, 1932

below from July 4, 1932

from Brevities, June 6, 1932

from May 8, 1933

from July 20, 1933

This and the other may have just been pamphlets, as google has not heard of them

from November 2, 1933

from December 10, 1933

from January 15, 1934

These I found online...covers only

November 2, 1931

November 16, 1931

November 30, 1931

December 31, 1931

January 4, 1932

February 29, 1932

March 14, 1932

May 9, 1932

July 4, 1932

September 19, 1932

Broadway Brevities, June 1923
Julian Eltinge

Broadway Tattler, January 1933

Broadway Tattler, September 1933
Jean Malin
would Love to see the rest of this article...

Additional Issues (added 4/30/20)

11/21/32

11/28/32

11/12/32

10/12/33

10/19/33

2/12/34

cartoons

6/6/32

6/20/32

11/21/32

11/28/32

 

12/12/32

And the above was titled "Call Her Savage" in homage to the 1932 Clara Bow movie,
that included the classic cabaret scene by the fey boys "working as chambermaids"

10/19/33

1/22/34

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
From a few years later, just a touch of queer stuff....
May 1937
PDF

Probably 1937