Rubber News and Associated Publications
/Rubber News - Arkison Ltd
I have acquired what I believe to be a complete set of Rubber News, Black Panther and 2 other titles from the same publisher - Head Girl and Mermaid in Rubber. They were all home printed publications, released fortnightly on the 1st and 15th of each month, and were available on subscription-only during 1966. Content is quite mixed, consisting of readers’ letters and drawings, general rubber advice and book reviews. Each book also describes all the items that the publishers manufactured and offered for sale. Not just clothing, but all kinds of stuff that you might require for a fun night in, these items are described in some detail.
Photographs were also offered for sale in sets that were described, again, in detail. Oddly interesting to read with your imagination working overtime!
All the books I have are complete and in nice condition. I feel reluctant to sell these individually and feel they ought to go to someone as a collection, to be cherished as a complete set. I have tried to research them, but with no real luck. I have never seen another copy in all my travels and rummagings through people’s weird and wonderful collections.
They are for sale as a complete lot - 25 books in total. If you are interested, then please contact me and we can take it from there.
What makes me think that I have a complete set is this page, which was added to Volume 1 No 22. What you are about to read below was an all-to-frequent event in the 1960’s, when publications like this were considered to be subverting the general public. A great deal of material was destroyed in this way in the UK and the USA. We are now frequently only left with what had already slipped that net, making publications like Rubber News rare and very collectable. I am not sure what happened after this volume, did Rubber News resurrect itself later under a different name? If you know more, then it would be great to hear from you, so please take the time to contact me.
More pictures are available on BrazenBooks
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM MR. C. J. TRAILL-HILL.
Friends.
As you will doubtless have gathered from various delays in our mailings, we have fallen into some confusion. The time has now come for me to be frank with you, letting you know what the problem is and telling you of my plans to overcome the present problem and prevent it arising in the future.
Following on the scurrilous attack in The People, in which the nature of our business was distorted beyond recognition, we had a visit from the CID, armed with a "search and seize warrant", under which they took the whole of our stocks of books, photos and equipment for inspection under suspicion that they were obscene.
They did not in any way interfere with our rubber garment business, nor with the documentation relating to it. This is intact and operating fully.
Also, they did not express any interest in our mailing list. No-one, and I repeat NO-ONE is involved in any problems apart from myself. If there are any problems, I have accepted full responsibility, exonerating all my staff on the grounds that they were merely carrying out my instructions for their wages and were not the authors or promoters of anything that has been done.
All RUBBER NEWS correspondence has been consistently destroyed. There is NOTHING for any of you to worry about in this connection. All my authors and artists have also been protected, as well as my models, photographers and the rest.
At this time, I do not know what the outcome may be. It is possible that I shall be prosecuted, although I am advised that this is not very likely because of course the resulting publicity would do more for me than years of patient effort. (As a result of the article in The People I have received over 100 interested enquiries).
Anyway, this is my worry and I do not ask you to share it.
Black Panther
Black Panther runs to 74 pages - the last three or four have popped off their staples in this issue.
Please read below to get some idea of its content. The copy I have has all of its 5 prints still stuck in position. (Very Nice)
BLACK PANTHER
The first print of BLACK PANTHER is now SOLD OUT. We are reprinting as fast as we can and shall not keep anyone waiting long for a copy. The price of this 74-page Guide to Rubber and leather is just £1 to SUBSCRIBERS to RUBBER NEWS. To non-Subscribers, the price is strictly £2.
BLACK PANTHER is a complete Catalogue to everything we make, print, publish and sell _ and a lot more besides.
It is crammed with Book Reviews, Photo Reviews, descriptions of garments in rubber and leather, of restrictive equipment in leather and metal and of our whole range of Hoods, Masks and Gags. In addition to numerous drawings, this book is illustrated by 5 glossy photos, each 6" x 4", three from our BONDPIX range, and two Rubber Glamour shots.