Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art

Charles Guyette, the "G-string King," referenced in the film of Wonder Woman's creator, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, and costumer to Bettie Page, was the first person to produce and distribute fetish art in America. In 1935, he was arrested and sent to federal prison. But what should've been the end was just the beginning. Although rarely credited by name in his lifetime, he influenced everyone who would follow him, particularly the publishers Robert Harrison, John Willie, Irving Klaw, and Leonard Burtman. The aim of this book was to evoke the spirit of Guyette — to collect surviving fragments of a decimated catalog largely by referencing vintage fetish publications from the 1930s through the 1980s and reconstruct a lost history. This portfolio of images is followed by biographical information seen nowhere else, and serves as a substantial introduction to the birth of American fetish art and the cultural impact of an unrecognized pioneer.