Some gals will do anything for kicks

I have always had a bit of a penchant for 1940s pulp fiction so imagine my surprise when I saw this little gem at a flea market in Tehran. I bought it for its sheer shock value (plus the fact that it only cost around a buck). Unfortunately it's not in perfect condition since, despite its racy content, some kid got his hands on it and put pen scribbles all over the cover.

For those of you who, like me, are curious about what passed for licentious literature 60 years ago, here's a sample:

"She wanted something, and she was willing to buy it. That much was obvious. she was throwing me all the cues.

I put my arm around her and pulled her toward me, then planted a long and deliberately passionate kiss on her velvet lips. She pulled away a little, drew a breath. Then she pressed herself hard against me and wriggled her body just a bit. This was it. My hand reached inside her gown..."

Not bad, eh? If the suspense is killing you, I'll let you know that the relationship didn't last. This, alas, was not love for Johnny McCoy.

Here's a brief summary of the story, which in the end turned out to be not bad. Johnny McCoy is a New York City jazzman who used to blow with progressive jazz great Tommy Vissano. They were revolutionary but ahead of their time and when we meet Johnny he's a bit down on his luck. That luck changes when he meets Lindsey (see above) who proposes that he front a progressive jazz quartet and give the thing one more chance. The only catch... the other three musicians are dames. Chicks playing jazz... can you imagine!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Johnny shows all of them a thing or three, has some wild nights, misses his real chance at love and ends up in the clink.

Not exactly prize-winning fiction, but the greatest thing about these books is their advertising. I mean, just look at that cover... How could anyone resist it? The promotional text on the back cover contains this gem: "It looked like a picnic for Johnny and his harem of hep-kittens..." Pure genius!

I'll keep my eyes peeled for more like it.