Duke (magazine)

Last updated
Duke
Editor Dan Burley [1]
Categories Men's magazines
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherDuke Publishing Co.
Founded1957
CountryUnited States
Based in Chicago, Illinois
LanguageEnglish

Duke was a short-lived men's magazine formed by ex-employees of the Johnson Publishing Company. It is notable as an early attempt at an upscale adult periodical for African-American audiences.
It was primarily a black and white publication, although the cover and centerfold were color printed. [1]

Like many of its contemporaries, the magazine was heavily inspired by the runaway success of Playboy magazine, although it featured no outright nudity and remained very tame all around. It was based in Chicago, both Playboy's hometown and a hub for African-American intellectuals of that era. [2]

The magazine's centerfold models were called Duchess of the Month. [3] The first Duchess was Eleanor Crews, who had earlier appeared as the October girl in the 1957 pin-up calendar included with the New Year issue of Jet . [4]

The magazine's publisher and main author was Benjamin Burns, who had previously worked on a men's magazine named Modern Man [2] and been prosecuted for obscenity on that occasion. While Modern Man was not an ethnic publication, and Burns was a white Jew, he was well acquainted with the black press, having held high ranking positions at the Chicago Defender , Ebony and its sister publication Jet. [2]

The editor and face of the magazine was journalist and musician Dan Burley, although it has been argued that he was largely a figurehead hired to lend black credibility to the magazine, while Burns (who did not appear on the masthead) [5] was the main man. [2]

The magazine lasted just 6 issues. [2] It is unrelated to the later Duke that was published between 1967 and 1978, and primarily featured Caucasian models.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pin-up model</span> Model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture

A pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour models, actresses, and fashion models whose pictures are intended for informal, aesthetic display, such as being pinned onto a wall. From the 1940s, pictures of pin-up girls were also known as cheesecake in the U.S.

<i>Playboy</i> Playmate Female model featured in a centerfold of Playboy magazine

A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which lists her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and turn-offs. At the end of the year, one of the 12 Playmates of the Month is named Playmate of the Year (PMOTY). Every Playmate of the Month is awarded a prize of US$25,000 and each Playmate of the Year receives an additional prize of US$100,000 plus a car and other discretionary gifts. In addition, Anniversary Playmates are usually chosen to celebrate a milestone year of the magazine. The use of the word "Playmate" in a sexual sense did not originate with Playboy, and was seen at least as early as 1950 in Vue magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pornographic magazine</span> Magazines that contain content of an explicitly sexual nature

Pornographic magazines or erotic magazines, sometimes known as adult magazines or sex magazines, are magazines that contain content of an explicitly sexual nature. Publications of this kind may contain images of attractive naked subjects, as is the case in softcore pornography, and, in the usual case of hardcore pornography, depictions of masturbation, oral, manual, vaginal, or anal sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centerfold</span> Portrait of a model in the middle of a magazine, or the model depicted therein

The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines, the centerfold does not have any blank space cutting through the image.

<i>Oui</i> (magazine) Adult pornographic magazine

Oui was a men's adult pornographic magazine published in the United States and featuring explicit nude photographs of models, with full page pin-ups, centerfolds, interviews and other articles, and cartoons. Oui ceased publication in 2007.

<i>Men Only</i> British mens magazine

Men Only is a British magazine title that originated in 1935 as a pocket-sized men's magazine. It became a standard-sized pin-up magazine in the 1950s and was relaunched in 1971 by Paul Raymond Publications as a soft-core pornographic magazine.

<i>Tiger</i> (magazine) American mens magazine

Tiger was an American men's magazine that featured photographs of pin-up girls as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1956 by G. George Fox, Jr. and published by Reynard Press into the mid-1960s. The first issue was Vol. 1 No. 1 dated May 1956.

Players was an American monthly softcore men's magazine. It was often nicknamed "the black Playboy" for its attempt at providing the African-American public with a racy, yet elegant reading choice. Once new black-centric magazines came in to the fold, publications such as The Messenger, Opportunity, and The Crisis would regularly show and portray photographs and short descriptions of Black life in America, specifically Women, to enlighten the masses as both moral and aspirational figures. These images were originally to challenge racist stereotypes, but would turn it on its head to create a vision of empowerment. Players Magazine would come along, as it would take this narrative and flip it to a sexualized state, which would change the world of snuff magazines. Players Magazine, amongst the others before it, attempted to end the narrative of ignorance towards Black life or the everyday representation of Black people.

References

  1. 1 2 "Antiquarian Bookseller's Association of America". abaa.org. ABAA, Bibliopolis, LLC, and Biblio.com, Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Nishikawa, Kinohi (2002). Race, Respectability And The Short Life Of Duke Magazine. Johns Hopkins University Press.
  3. ↑ Davis, Elroy (June 1957). "Duchess of the Month". Duke. Vol. 1, no. 1. Duke Publishing Co. p. 33.
  4. ↑ "Jets Pin-Ups For 1957". Jet. Vol. 1, no. 1. Duke Publishing Co. January 3, 1957. p. 33.
  5. ↑ "Masthead". Duke. Vol. 1, no. 1. Duke Publishing Co. June 1957. p. 3.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.