Saturday, January 16, 2010

Book Shelf: GQ Scene Magazine, Fall 1967, Part 3, Featuring Rare Freelance Material By Thomas Disch

OK, I'm back with part three of the (almost) complete scan of GQ's fab teen mag from 1967. This first spread is exciting because it starts off with an article on pirate radio in the UK by the late, lamented science fiction genius Thomas M. Disch:




How did this article end up in a teen mag? My guess is that Disch most likely submitted it to Esquire and it ended up in the slush pile used for this publication. This is a rare treat, though, because I'm pretty sure this has never been reprinted. It's interesting to think that he probably wrote this while working on his tour de force, Camp Concentration. Here's the rest along with still another guitar ad:



And here we have some dubious advice for teen boys and some polyester socks:



More advice and stamp collecting paraphernalia:



An ad for a pretty great looking shirt and an article on excercise:



Two spreads of expensively-produced ads with tricky spot-coloring for Kodel polyester and more of the exercise article, now featuring a fairly hunky model in great shorts:





I LOVE the clothes in this ad. I would fight somebody for those plaid wool pants. These are for adolescents, but I would wear everything shown here:



I'm telling you, those outfits would look right at home in a Billy Reid boutique right now. Here's a funny ad featuring the Monkees and... I'm sorry to say... two missing pages and the conclusion of an article on, I think, payola:



Finally, a proper fashion spread, and it's no disappointment. These are sensational outfits, cut just like menswear is cut today, against fabulous "surrealist" backgrounds:



These are beautful clothes. Bring back windowpane plaid, please:



This is a funny feature: an article featuring both fashion and music. It's advice on what your fledgling rock combo should wear to get laughed out of the Fillmore:



As good as the previous fashion spread was, these outfits aren't doing it for me:



Wait, the singer is now the drummer. Versatile!



There's more to come! I'll try to finish scanning this surprisingly thick magazine this weekend.

Recap: part one, part two, part three, part four, part five.

4 comments:

Cartophiliac said...

That Pirate Radio story was priceless. Thanks for sharing this.

Anonymous said...

Tom had another article in a later issue of GQ (1971) about fashion, and he even got to model in that one apparently .
The opening reminds me of a poem he wrote in 1967: “Everything Closes after Midnight in London: A Lament”

- matthew davis

jrhodes211 said...

The 2 pages that are missing have an article "Too Tight? Stay Loose". It's filled with advice to guys on girls. Interesting stuff like "take command", "She needs you", "stay cool", etc. Probably ended up in a wallet of someone who wanted to Be Cool and get the girl! LOL!

I'm looking for info on these Mags as I have 2 from an estate. You seem to be the only other person with these Mags. Any info is helpful! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

It's been almost a year since you've posted this, but, researching Thomas Disch, I just came upon this for the first time yesterday. This is a wonderful piece by Disch, and, as you say, I would bet that it hasn't been reprinted anywhere and would very well have fallen away altogether, completely out of sight, had you not posted this here. My sincere thanks for that.

I also kinda like the fact that the basic of weight training is pretty much the same as it's always been.

And those dating tips are hilarious.