Carter/Johnson Leather Library December 2011 - Volume 1 - Issue 12
In This Issue ….
- Tales From the Librarian
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New Acquisitions
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Community Corner
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That’s Some Stuff Right There
-
Letter to the Librarian
- Bob Harris “Essays”
Support The Library
You can support us by becoming a member of the Library, linking to our website, shopping at our e-store or making a donation directly to the Library. You can also make a donation directly to the Library Van Fund.
Community Corner
Thank you
- To PLPN for being the Library Angel who takes care of the book Storage Unit.
- To Jesse and Penitential Arts.com for becoming a Library Sentinel
- To House Griffin for helping the Library for “One More Day”.
- To ButtaFly for tablecloths for the PLPN tables and an awesome set up
- To Omerta for becoming a Library Defender
- To the Boot Black Brigade for their continuing support of the Library.
New Acquisitions
Das Rutenmagazin IV. Heft [4]
Nachte der Venus
This month’s special acquisitions are two more rare books from Germany.
The first, which literally translates as “The Rods Magazine – Book 4”, looks like a German version of American 1920s – 1940s “under the counter” porn to me. The text is typed and then mimeographed only on one side. The staples are rusted and the pages are brittle and browned with age.
According to OCLC, there is only one other copy of this book listed in WorldCat (a global library catalog consisting of cooperatively-shared catalogs from libraries around the world).
I’ve been told that the book is actually two different flogging stories with the book’s only illustration separating the two.
Nachte der Venus Reinhold Eichacker Universal-Verlag, Munchen 1919
The second book is a tome published in 1919, and it’s in pristine condition. The erotic writings of its author, Reinhold Eichacker, were “on a list of harmful and undesirable writings” banned in Germany in 1938.
The Library will be handing these two books to a friend in the Philadelphia area, a fluent German speaker, for translation. These are the latest in the Library’s growing collection of German publications, and it will be wonderful to read them in English.
Tell Me More About…
One of my great joys is taking people through the Library and showing them the many hidden gems of kink history that are on the shelves. Exploration and discovery often lead to the question, “Can you tell me more about this?”
Darque DeSade and Bob Neroni
I was raised the child of an artist. Mom loved to express herself with oil, charcoal or pencil. Her journals were created in pictures, not words. Often, I lamented the fact that her artistic talent was not passed on to me. She would say “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, appreciate.” My lessons in art appreciation were learned by watching her and, on many Sunday afternoons, in the galleries of most of the museums within seventy-five miles of our home in New Jersey.
That love of art followed me into adult life and, of course, into our kinky lifestyle. Works by Dadē, The Hun, Cirby, Ray Castro, Ira Smith, Naomi L.K., and other artists too numerous to name are in the Library collection. One only needs to open some of the portfolios that travel with the collection to see the artistic diversity. However, until just a few years ago, there was not a lot of photography in the collection. That changed when I met a man named Darque DeSade. I first saw Darque’s work at BlackBeat 2003 and was stunned by its beauty. He captured the female form in ways that Black women had never before been photographed. Calling Darque’s work stunning just might be a polite understatement.
Then, in May 2010, Robi and I were in Maryland at an event called BootCamp. There was a piece by photographer Bob Neroni hanging on the wall. I didn’t realize I was staring until Robi asked me if I was alright. The work captured a beautifully and intricately bound woman at once ecstatic and at peace within the ropes that held her. The shadows were as haunting as her expression. I was mesmerized.
Some of Darque DeSade’s beautiful photography was added to the Library collections a few years ago. A few weeks ago, at Bob Neroni gifted the Library with eight pieces of his work. It would be easy for me to continue to wax poetic about the artistry of both of these men, but a mind far greater than my own said “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Here, in the works of these two incredibly talented artists, are about a million words that I appreciate.
Side Note…
Dear Littles;
The Library now has something for you to color. As of Philadelphia Leather Pride Night, crayons and coloring pages occupied a shelf of Ziggy’s Corner. Promise kept.
Here are a few of the pages that await you.
(Images Missing)
New Staff Member!
Cubby Sherwood is the newest member of the Library staff. Cubby has been helping me with the collection’s catalog. Cubby (the masochist) is charged with helping me correctly catalog all the new items coming in, as well as slowly updating the existing catalog in order to ease the Library’s future transition to a WorldCat-compatible cataloging program.
Cubby is looking for a nice, quiet place to do the Library’s cataloging work. I’ve suggested a padded cell.
Newsletter Archive
Tales from the Librarian
Philadelphia Leather Pride Night
The Carter/Johnson Library and Collection returned in November to Philadelphia Leather Pride Night Weekend for the 2nd year The Library was honored to be one of the beneficiaries of this exciting weekend this year. The other beneficiaries included: the Chicago-based Leather Archives & Museum, and its Women’s Leather History Project; Philadelphia’s William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center; the Mazzoni Center’s food bank, providing meals for Philadelphia metropolitan area people living with HIV/AIDS; the Sharon St Cyr Fund, Hearing from the Heart, providing hearing aids for those who need them and American Sign Language interpreters for events; and By The Grace of George, helping to care for pets belonging to the homebound and terminally ill.
There are so many wonderful things to share about PLPN that I’ll break this article into several pieces.
PLPN Weekend takes place in our home town and it’s the only event to date where we’ve been able to set up the entire collection. We are very fortunate that the event producer provides us not only with enough space to show the collection, but also with a vehicle large enough to transport the many crates, cases, tables, bookcases, and materials that are required for display. This makes for one happy Librarian and library staff.
Location, Location, Location
While this year’s event was hosted at different venues in the City of Brotherly Love, the William Way Center served as the main location. The 2100 square foot Mark Segal Ballroom was the Library’s home for five days. The Library shared this space with a special Woman’s Leather History display from the Leather Archives and Museum as well as an art show featuring the work of world-renowned artist Judy Tallwing McCarthy, the first International Ms Leather.
The Library staff eagerly jumped into the challenge of turning this large empty space into a multipurpose area that would serve the needs of the event and the community.
Enjoy the pictures from the beginning of the Library set-up to completion.
That was the Week That Was
The Philadelphia Leather Pride Night weekend schedule actually began mid-week for the Carter/Johnson Library and its staff. Wednesday morning, November 2nd, was full of last minute craziness as we prepared for the move to the William Way Center. As if that wasn’t enough, we decided that would also be the ideal time to be assembling shelving in the Library’s new larger (!) storage unit. What were we thinking?!?
Morning became noon and Charles, Cowboi, and a host of very strong volunteers arrived to load the cargo truck they brought for the 15 mile trek to downtown Philadelphia. We loaded and were underway in short order.
Within a few hours the contents of the 17 foot U-Haul truck had been emptied into the Ballroom at the William Way Center and the unpacking began. Buttafly, one of our new volunteers, took charge. Under her direction the Library setup got started. Locations for all the tables, bookcases, and display areas were marked out and the conversion from Ballroom to Library got rolling. By the Center’s 10PM closing time almost half of the Library was up and decorated.
We were back at the Center bright and early Thursday morning to finish the Library setup. It had to be ready for an evening that was set aside specifically for Philadelphia TNGs and local college students. At 10 PM, we said good night to the William Way Center and headed homewards for much-needed sleep.
Friday morning we actually slept late (as late as we ever get to) and didn’t arrive to greet the Collection until almost 11am. Much to our surprise, people were already in the Library when we arrived. Thank goodness Kitten was there to greet the students and researchers who wanted to jump right into reading and research.
One of my personal special highlights of the day was when Rick Storer, Director of the Leather Archives & Museum, arrived. Rick and I have done classes together in the Library, and have always enjoyed each other’s company. This was the first time that the Archives and the Library would be together in the same room. Rick unpacked and assembled the Archives display and then together we set up the table for the Woman’s Leather History display, “A Room of Her Own”. Those who have not been able to travel to Chicago to visit the LA&M in person got to have a little piece of the LA&M brought to them. It was wonderful.
A steady stream of people came in and out of the Library all afternoon. At 5:30 PM, the Library staff set up extra tables and chairs. We were soon joined by authors and artists, as well as their many fans and reporters for the event PLPN calls the Leather Blender.
The Library hosted authors Nancy Ava Miller, Tim Brough, and Lady Elaina as they signed books and greeted fans. On the other side of the room, scores of people were enjoying the artwork and talking to the artists about their inspiration. A $10.00 donation brought attendees a kinky photo booth, good food, good conversation, all the erotica they could handle, and the knowledge that they were benefiting “Hearing from the Heart”.
On Saturday morning, the Library delivered on a promise made a few months previous. Amid Saturday Morning cartoons – Kink style, that is –, Littles got to color in the Library! We put out twenty copies of kinky coloring page booklets and crayons on Ziggy’s Corner. I must admit that, while I watched the action from across the room, I almost expected to see some bowls of cereal and boxes of juice and milk on the floor with the crayons.
The rest of the day was non stop action. There were researchers gathering information for various articles and projects, three different very well-attended classes were held on one side of the room, and a steady flow of visitors both experiencing the Library for the first time, as well as old friends coming in to say Hello or resume reading from events before kept us rocking and rolling. There was so much laughter and good conversation going on, in fact, that the staff didn’t realize we had all been on our feet for almost eight straight hours, nor that we’d kept the Library open three hours past its posted closing time!
After a quick bite to eat, the Library staff walked to Woody’s to watch Jo Arnone perform the auctioneering magic that she is known for. As always, she alternatively encouraged, begged, cajoled, and lovingly demanded that bidders reach deep into their pockets and give from their hearts to support the Weekend’s beneficiaries. At the auction’s end, after a very very long day, the Library staff again headed off for well-earned sleep.
Sunday, after the insanity that was Saturday, seemed almost calm. Almost. But we were again flooded with people as all those visitors who had not yet had a chance to see the Library descended, seemingly en masse. Much to our regret, a repeat of the previous night’s late closing was not an option. We had a library to deconstruct and deconstruct we did with the help of a number of very enthusiastic volunteers. Despite some of our last guests continuing to read as the take-down proceeded all around them, we managed one of the fastest and best coordinated pack-ups the Library has seen to date.
Monday was simple. We just had to get back to the William Way Center, load the truck once again, and put the baby back to bed. All in all, it was six days very well spent and, by the end of the weekend, the event had raised over $10,000.
That’s Some Stuff Right There
There have always been things in Jill’s and my collection that are hard to put in categories. With the help of Jez, the Library Genie we finally came up with a name for all the “stuff.” We are going to just call it “STUFF” and will be telling you about it as we find it.
These drink tokens are from the D. C. Eagle. They entitle the bearer to a well drink at the bar. The old idiom “Don’t take any wooden nickels.” definitely doesn’t apply to these treasures.
The Bootblack History Project
The Adventures of Teddy
Drummer of the Bootblack BrigadeA few weeks ago on Ebay, I was scanning the shoeshine section and came upon two items up for sale from a rare print dealer. He was selling tear sheets from an original 1888 copy of a magazine called Harper’s Young People. The tear sheets were prints of two paintings by the artist J. G. Brown.
Brown was known for painting the people he saw on the streets of New York with a special fondness for young bootblacks. The first of the two pictures was called Professional PrideProfessional Pride. It depicts a young tattered boy sitting on his bootblack kit shining a shoe. He has a smile of satisfaction on his face as he admires his own handiwork. The second print shows another ragged boy, with his shine box over his shoulder and brushes in his hand. He too is looking up with an endearing smile. The caption under the print reads “A Drummer of the Boot-Black Brigade”.boot shine
Those of you who have been following the continuing adventures of Teddy know that he is an apprenticing bootblack who has been given brushes and a bootblack kit by his mentor boy Robi. The newest addition to his equipment is a stand so that Teddy may more properly take care of the footwear of his Daddy bear.
Smile at Teddy the next time you are in the Library. You never know where in the Bootblack Exhibit you may find him.
Teddy has a daddy
Greetings Again Everyone,
It’s me Teddy and i have some exciting news to share with everyone. The Leather History Conference was fun, but PLPN brought about a big change for me. Boy robi made me a bootblack kit so that i could fit in at the Bootblack station. It’s cool, its green and has my name on it with two stars. The Weekend was busy and i couldn’t believe at all the books and Art Momma Vi has. By the time boy robi and Team Library and all volunteers finished putting everything together it was Awesome. The Leather Archives were there with a Cool display on Women’s Leather History which displayed IMsL1 Judy Tallwings Sash and Drummer History as well.
The place stayed busy all weekend, there were people in there from other Countries doing research, those just enjoying and those boys who sat there for hours scanning. The workers from the William Way Center were giving tours, so that people could see their ballroom. They were amazed at the way it was set up. I realized I knew a bunch of people, and Yippeeee Nancy was there!!!!!! The weekend was coming to a close but nobody wanted to put the Library away, because they wanted to sit and read more. The day before pack up, Momma Vi came over and said Teddy I would like to introduce you to Daddy Stan. i was sitting there going OMG what am i supposed to do, say, not do etc. So i say a pleasure to meet You Daddy Stan Sir. So i may have a Daddy, more to come.
I will ask boy robi or Momma Vi to send pictures so that everyone can see how happy i am. Thank You everyone for such a great weekend. Thank You for supporting the Library and thank You for being so nice to me.
Respectfully,
“Teddy”
TNG Corner
Fantasy vs Reality
There was a submissive guy who wanted to play with me. He seemed nice enough, polite and didn’t fill my inbox with photos of his genitals. However, life continued to move forward in a manner that made extended email exchanges less of a priority. Time passed. I forgot about him only to be reminded by an occasional virtual poke from another of his respectfully worded messages. We’d set a date to meet. Then his schedule would change or I’d have a last minute appointment, always with enough advance notice to keep from inconveniencing each other. It became a game of phone tag. As one of those woo-woo spiritual people, or perhaps one of those “I am too lazy for this” folk, I will only attempt to cross paths with a new person a limited number of times. After a few tries, I operate under the assumption that it just isn’t meant to happen right now. Anyway, we finally managed to confirm our appointment several times prior that week.
Now it’s the day of our lunch. I’ve got an hour to get ready before heading out the door. I hop out of the shower and check my phone. I have a text message that says, “Hello, Ms. Jaki. It’s your PussyBoi Slut checking in with you.”
Um. What? This was completely new. I asked, “Are we still meeting today?”
“Ur Sluthole BedroomWhore.”
I look at my phone, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Mistress, I had a dream last night about your stuffing your strap-on into my tight boi pussy.” Then he writes a small novel about all of the various things he wants me to do. Actually, it was more like a script for a two person play entitled, “I really want an escort but I’m too cheap to pay for one.”
Okay, now wait just one gotdamn minute. There are about fifteen things happening here that I was not understanding. First and foremost, I have never called this man anything except his government name (or at
least the alias he gave me). How the hell did we switch to freaky pet names? Second, if I’m supposed to be in charge, don’t I get to make them up? Is this some type of Slutty Mad Libs? Third, I’m glad you just found your penis and would like to tug it for a while but can you answer my time sensitive question? And further, I never asked you to call me anything. Until I meet you, these are magical words from the ether. Nor I don’t claim the title, Mistress. And if I did, you haven’t earned that yet.
So I’m staring at my phone in shock like, “What happened to the wonderful emails? Who is this person?” Around that time I get a text response, “I’m sorry, Mistress. I won’t be there to meet you.” Now, I’m not pressed about meeting this person specifically but I was looking forward to going out to lunch. But now we have a new issue. You had all the time in the world to send me fifteen minutes worth of mini-fantasy wank via text but you didn’t get up to sharing that our appointment was canceled until I asked.
Fantasy vs Reality
I reply, “That was TMI. But at what point had you intended to mention that our plans were cancelled.”
“I’m sorry. Your pussyboi is so excited to talk to you.” Afterwards, I was given another block text of random sexual information. No explanation? Not even a half-assed excuse? Not answering my second question? Off to a great start.
“Ok, first off. I’m not your Mistress. You are not my Pussyboi. We haven’t even met.” The conversation only lasted a few more back-and-forths where I explained that a good way to impression someone isn’t to cancel plans without giving them any heads up. I also explained that anything sexual he wanted to share would have to wait until we met and decided if this was worth pursuing. It went over his head completely. I did manage to learn that he loves chastity and he has a strong attraction to eating my ass. Super helpful information. Eventually, I told him not to message me any longer because his persistence in sexting told me all I needed to know. I’m not against sexting, cybering or any form on technological fuckery. After years of practice, I’m actually quite good at it. The issue is the difference between fantasy and reality. In his fantasy, he was the devoted Pussyboi of Mistress Jaki who needs to give constant weather updates on the state of his genitals. Awesome. Except he was speaking to someone who is far more interested in the state of his character. In reality, people have feelings about how you treat them. People rearrange their afternoon based on agreements. People cancel plans to see you. That’s reality.
That’s why fantasy is so intoxicating. You can just dream up purple elephants and chocolate fountains all day. Too bad no one informed me that while his happy ass was sliding down an imaginary rainbow of dicks, I should probably throw my housecoat back on and sit back down on the couch. Let me just say that fantasy is a powerful thing. And he has the right to fantasize me doing anything he’d like. However, if you are going to involve me in the fantasy, you better check first. I’m either going to require certain behaviors in exchange (like respect and common sense) or I will require a major credit card. If this was a client calling a phone sex line, then that might be appropriate because you pay for the fantasy. But even then, sex workers have the right to decide if the price is worth the bullshit.
In reality, there is only one aspect of the conversation that mattered. Will we be meeting later or not? In fantasy, there is a host of wonderfully deviant things to discuss. Alright, then let’s incorporate them both. We’ll discuss them when we meet. Should be a solution, right? It would be if that pesky reality wasn’t slowing down his one handed texting spree. The reality is… reality didn’t matter. The fantasy was the main attraction.
I think a lot of people still consider sex and BDSM to be things you do TO someone instead of things you do WITH someone. Even if that only includes being with them for a scene or a night. This is a team sport; a collaboration. In theory, we’re both enjoying ourselves. In his fantasy, he’s having a great time. In reality, he’s royally pissed me
off. This includes cybersex relationships as well. You can’t force me to type. If he chooses to sexualize any reply I make, that’s fine. If it’s still in your head, that’s your fun time. But to reply as though it was actually happened is non-consensually investing me in his masturbation. To ignore questions and concerns is disrespectful and
displays potentially life-threatening behavior. Living in a fantasy 24/7 brings you to a point where you believe that meeting someone for lunch means they want to discuss your gaping asshole. That’s some Freudian shit. You have no idea if I am who I say I am. If we’ll even get along. These are the concerns people should have when they meet someone new.
Not how much real estate their colon can hold. That is information that should be shared on a need-to-know basis. Something everyone should consider when looking for new or additional partners; maybe the reason you haven’t found your fantasy yet is because the position has been filled by your imaginary friend.