Past Masters of the Nude

This book documents every hardback book of nude photographs published in England during the first half of the 20th century from such photographers as Walter Bird, John Everard, Andre de Dienes, George Harrison Marks, Roye, Jean Straker, Bertram Park and Yvonne Gregory. Full bibliographical details are given for each title, together with a description of its imagery and contents — a must-have resource for bibliophiles and collectors.

Throughout the period covered, the publication of nude photographs was a hazardous business. Public prudery and the law of obscenity made life difficult for both photographers and publishers.

In a scholarly introduction and postscript, together with the bibliographical entries themselves, author Jay W. King provides a fascinating account of the profound changes in cultural and legal attitudes towards nudity and sexuality which occurred in England in the first 60 years of the 20th century.