Author Nigel Sadler explores the history of erotic images through early twentieth-century postcards.

In this seductive album of vintage erotica, stunning reproductions of vintage postcards from 1902–1937 pay homage to the great fantasy classics. All styles of fetishism—dressed up in thigh-high boots or in a particularly spectacular garter belt—vie for the reader’s attention. The conquest of a demure secretary is played out in four scenes on a series of cards. Even the much-parodied French maid shows her saucy side, not to be outdone by a bevy of sassy dominatrices. Men with women, women with women, and various versions of the ménage à trois find their way between the sheets... of this album. Four original racy tales from celebrated contemporary French authors accompany the postcards. Beautifully printed on off-set paper, the book includes a ribbon marker, just in case the reader gets carried away on his or her own fantasy. Sexy and classy, Erotic French Postcards makes a beautiful—and suggestive—gift.

" Eroticism is a constant presence in modern society, encompassing almost every aspect of our daily lives. It is a product of one of the major commercial and political enterprises of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: the cultivation of desire – desire for sex, desire for wealth, desire for entertainment. Paul Rutherford's A World Made Sexy looks at modern civilization's ongoing project to manufacture and encourage public wants, building a utopia where just about everyone (who is affluent) dreams, plays, and, of course, shops. A World Made Sexy uses museum exhibitions, art, books, magazines, films, and television to examine the rise and purpose of eroticism, first in America but soon across the affluent world. Starting with a brief foray into the representation of history as past pornography, Rutherford explores a sexual liberation movement shaped by the ideas of Marx and Freud, the erotic styles of Salvador Dali and pop art, the pioneering use of publicity as erotica by Playboy and other products, and the growing concerns of cultural critics over the emergence of a regime of stimulation. In one case study, Rutherford pairs James Bond and Madonna in order to examine the link between eroticism and aggression. He further details how television advertising after 1980 constructed a theatre of the libido to entice the buying public, and concludes by situating the Eros project in the wider context of Michel Foucault's account of the administration of life, and specifically sexuality, during the modern era. A World Made Sexy is about power and pleasure, emancipation and domination, and the relationship between the personal passions and social controls that have crafted desire. "

Long before pin-ups, Playboy, or the Internet, enterprising Parisians at the turn of the 20th-century turned the relatively new invention of the camera toward the female nude. Artfully posed with classical architecture or in flirtatious dishabille with stockings and lingerie, the winking models embody the erotic fantasies of a repressed society. Some of the women shown are demure and shy, wearing a slip or low-cut blouse-a great tease in an age when showing an ankle was scandalous. Their daring glimpses of decolletage carry a particular charge, so rare in today's world of overexposure. These cards were sold, often in packets, at street kiosks and under tabac counters, hush-hush but nevertheless ubiquitous. As foreigners flooded the city in the early part of the 20th-century, the cards became cherished souvenirs that were secretly collected and shared among men abroad. This is when the phrase -French postcards- became a euphemistic code for erotic nude images. These lovely ladies evoke a campy nostalgia that celebrates a healthy, voluptuous ideal of sensual feminine beauty. More retro than raunchy, French Postcards has the saucy fun of a naughty valentine, sure to charm and entertain a friend or lover.

Fifty years before Bettie Page became a pinup icon, another beauty was equally celebrated in Europe. Her name was Fernande. While Bettie adorned the pages of men's magazines, Fernande's medium was artistic erotic postcards, which were all the rage at the time. Little is known about the lovely Fernande, not even her last name. Though she is largely forgotten today, her postcards are still collected worldwide by an ardent following. This story follows Fernande's rise to fame, tying together the facts and speculations about the Parisian beauty. Included for your enjoyment is a selection of Miss Fernande's most memorable photographs.

Examines postcards as images that are carriers of text, and textual correspondence that circulate images across boundaries of class, gender, nationality and race. Discusses issues concerning the concrete practices of production, consumption, collection and appropriation.