A study of the magazine’s covers reveals a remarkable collection of midcentury art and style. There is a theme throughout of thoughtful, smart, stylish, and handsome men. The covers’ drawings typically include one of the main articles illustrated, and the title of the article alongside, which is incorporated into the art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 One cover featured a delightful pair of men; handsome, young, and smiling serenely, in the Abstract style, their bodies composed of large, modern color blocks with simple line drawings of faces, arms, and feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE magazine cover September 1958.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

 

Another, more serious cover, also features color blocking, with large lettering announcing a quite controversial article in the issue, called, "I am glad I am homosexual", next to a drawing of a young, conservative, and serious looking man looking intently off into the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE magazine cover May 1957.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

A third cover includes a dynamic drawing with the familiar color blocking, of a mysterious sailor from behind, standing on a ship’s deck, leaning on a railing and looking out into the distance, perhaps out to sea or towards the approaching coastline, with the title of the story, "Something About Sailors" next to it. These are just a few examples of dozens of amazing covers, including many that had simple, abstract designs and color blocking, or seasonal themes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE magazine cover December 1963.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

 

ONE: Art, Design, and Style

 

ONE stood apart from other early gay or lesbian-themed magazines due to its groundbreaking content and mission. Additionally, the editors decided early on that the magazine would speak to its audience through good print, art, and design details.

ONE magazine May 1955, page 5.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine October 1954, page 4.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover June-July 1957.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

The ONE Exhibition,

The Roots of the LGBT Equality Movement

ONE Magazine &

The First Gay Supreme Court Case In U.S. History

1943-1958

 

ONE magazine cover November 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover August 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

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ONE magazine June 1953, page 22-23.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California

All the magazine’s are liberally peppered with drawings and other illustrations that are remarkably humorous, quirky, and fun. They help to lighten the mood of the publication and are inspirational.

Selection of covers 1950s

ONE magazine cover October 1958.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

 

ONE magazine Index, volume 3 cover 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California

ONE magazine cover August 1958.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover February 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

 

 ONE magazine cover April-May 1956.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover January 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California

 ONE magazine cover October-November 1956.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California

ONE magazine cover December 1956.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover June 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover April 1959.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover March 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover April 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover September 1965.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover June 1959.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover July 1966.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California

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ONE featured striking cover art that reflected Modernist, Cubist, Surrealist, and Abstract styles popular among many of the magazine’s sophisticated readers.

The readers benefitted greatly from the sense of community and the practical advice the magazine had to offer, but through its art, ONE also spoke to the refined and worldly sensibilities of much of its readership. Thus, through ONE, readers gained the comfort and support of a legitimate gay community for the first time, but also could feel a sense of pride in the fledgling and beleaguered community’s artistic side.

 

Journalism professor and author Rodger Streitmatter wrote in his book Unspeakable The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, “ONE was the most dramatic in design. In keeping with the high level of taste and style many gay men possess, the founders insisted their magazine be typeset and printed rather than typewritten and mimeographed. This was a daring decision because the magazine had no consistent source of revenue beyond the pockets of the founders.”

 

The magazine’s primary illustrator was a lesbian named Joan Corbin, who went by the pseudonym Eve Elloree in the magazine. According to LGBT scholar Craig M. Loftin, Elloree’s “striking line drawings gave the magazine visual appeal. Her cover art was the first visual contact that most people had with the magazine. [And In many cases] her illustrations complemented an article or story in the magazine.” Loftin goes on the describe Elloree’s artwork breaking up the monotony of the magazine’s pages with clever drawings, and how readers often complimented “her clean, minimalist” style.

ONE magazine cover October 1955.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

 

ONE magazine cover December 1956.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

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The May 1953 issue featured an article titled You are a Public Enemy, describing President Eisenhower’s “tough, new loyalty-security program designed to rid the government of homosexuals, alcoholics, blabbermouths, as well as employees deemed subversive and disloyal.” Further, the “article stated, simply and bluntly, as well as by its choice of sequence, that this TOUGH new program was aimed specifically at homosexuals and super-patriots as well as just plain patriots.”

 

Above the article there is a drawing of a huge disembodied hand, with fingers curled and index finger pointing at the back of a man’s head. He is tiny in scale next to the hand, and wears a nice suit and a fedora. This illustration shows the desire of the editors at ONE to promote gay men as smart, successful members of society under attack by a larger-than-life, overreaching, and menacing government.

 

Another issue featured an article titled The Law of Mailable Material, which is a specific, serious discussion written by the magazine’s lawyer, Eric Julber, aimed at answering the questions of many of the magazine’s readers about exactly what the publication could and could not publish due to the era’s oppressive obscenity, censorship, and mailable materials laws.

 

It featured a lighthearted accompanying line-drawing of a postal carrier, portrayed as a smiling young man, in uniform complete with bowtie, a mail satchel slung over his shoulder, and looking down at a letter in hand. The drawing is abstract and fanciful, and resembles the drawings of Picasso of the era, and is signed with the initials E.E. (Likely Eve Elloree.)

 They even had stylish and festive covers for their holiday issues that included Santa’s, reindeer, Christmas trees, and more.

 

The editors and founders of ONE magazine were determined to give gay men and lesbians a forum and a voice in American society. But they cared about more than politics, and sought to appeal to their collective appreciation of art and design as well, thus, giving them a feeling of community.

 

They did so, in part, through the art, style, and design of the magazine, which became a calling card for the publication, and was a source of pride not only for those working for the magazine, but for its readers.

 

Indeed, the art of ONE was part of the foundation of the magazine, a quality that made it stand apart from other, later, gay and lesbian magazines of the era. It signaled a beacon of hope to those readers who may have otherwise felt trapped in a remorseless, unyielding society that judged them to be outcasts; criminals, sex perverts, or mentally deranged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE declared that gay men and lesbians were people like everyone else, people with jobs and families, they were soldiers and doctors and teachers, and they could be anyone; your son, your neighbor, your best friend. They paid taxes, had articulate thoughts and ideas about their rights, believed if social justice, and often possessed enviable qualities, like great style. And it signaled a turning of the tide, and the beginning of the fight for equality for the LGBT community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ONE magazine June 1953, page 4-5.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

ONE magazine cover December 1954.  Courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, California.

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COURT CASES