The Complete Reprint of John Willie's Bizarre Vols. 1-13

Köln: Taschen, 1995. Hardcover. Very Good. 13x21 cm. In English. 13 issues. B/w and colour ills. Introduction by Eric Kroll in English, German and French. Original covers on colored glossy paper. John Willie's Bizarre appeared from 1948 - 1959 at irregular intervals. Alongside articles, photographs, letters to the editor and drawings, mostly originating from the pen of John Willie himself, they contained Willie's classic comic strip "Sir d'Arcy d'Arcy" with the unforgettable Sweet Gwendoline. Volume I of this, the first complete reprint of Bizarre, contains issues 1-13. Bizarre contained letters from readers covering topics such as high heels, bondage, amputee fetishism, sadomasochism,corsets, transvestism, and more. The magazine was suspended completely from 1947 to 1951, and in 1956 Willie sold the magazine to a certain R.E.B, who published six issues before stopping its publication completely in 1959 [Wikipedia].

"Bizarre. The magazine for pleasant optimists who frown on convention. The magazine of fashions and fantasies fantastic! Innumerable journals deal with ideas for the majority. Must all sheeplike follow in their wake? Bizarre is for those who have the courage of the sown convictions. Conservative? — Old fashioned? — Not by any means! Where does a complete circle begin or end? Anderd doesn't fashion move in a circle? Futuristic? Not even that—there is nothing new in fashion, it is only for the application of new materials—new ornaments—a new process of making—coupled with the taste and ability to create the unusual and unorthodox to the trend of the moment." [From Bizarre Vol.3, 1946]