Lot 64

The first two issues of "Unique"--with coverage of the publishers' own legal victory in the important DSI pornography case. 1967.

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The first two issues of "Unique"--with coverage of the publishers' own legal victory in the important DSI pornography case. 1967.

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500

Starting Bid: $750

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by Swann Auction Galleries
August 13, 2026 10:30 AM EDT
Live Auction
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY, US 10010



The first two issues of "Unique"--with coverage of the publishers' own legal victory in the important DSI pornography case.

Issues 1 and 2 of "Unique: The Male Figure in Photo with Pertinent Commentary." 32 and 40 pages. Quarto, original illustrated wrappers, minor wear, original retail stickers on front covers; inked note to inner wrapper of volume 2; third printing of #1 and first printing of #2. Minneapolis, MN: DSI Sales, 1967

These are 1960s beefcake magazines, but issue #2 is also an important historical document.

Directory Services, Inc. (DSI) was a large Minneapolis publishing company which specialized in guidebooks and gay erotica. In February 1967, its officers Lloyd Spinar and Conrad Germain were arrested for distributing pornography, and faced a maximum of 145 years in prison and $145,000 in fines. Unlike other victims of similar prosecutions, they had the means to mount a vigorous defense in court, and the courage to make their opposition public. In July, the federal district court acquitted them of all charges, and proclaimed that "the rights of minorities expressed individually in sexual groups or otherwise must be respected. With increasing research and study, we will in the future come to a better understanding of ourselves, sexual deviants, and others." This decision cleared the way for legal distribution of full frontal male nudity through the mail, which remains the legal standard.

In issue two of the DSI magazine Unique, pages 25-28, they boasted of the court case in a long article titled "A Major Victory"--with a male nude on the facing page.

The photographs are uncredited, but some have been attributed to photographer Pat Milo and appear in his "American Photography of the Male Nude, 1940-1970," Volume V.

  • Dimensions: Each 11 x 8 1/4 in. (27.9 x 21 cm.)
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