These Japanese picture books were always difficult to find in Melbourne and Sydney because they sold out fast.They featured beautiful models, dazzling photography, and gorgeous aesthetics.
Unfortunately, some of the Australian sellers insisted on applying permanent stickers to the covers.
The City East Book Exchange, based near the corner of Bourke and Russell Streets in the heart and lungs of Melbourne, has stood the test of time, but not diversity.
During a recent visit to Melbourne, I decided to take a look inside the establishment. I hadn't done so for ten years.
It was a sobering visit. All the soft and hard magazines were long gone. The wooden shelves are now lined with generic American porn. Mostly four hour blowjob, anal, and racial compilations. Not a piece of anything truly erotic in sight.
Since the store is now supplying material easily and cheaply ordered on-line or being streamed 24/7, I don't predict a great future for it. Then again, I am not Criswell, so what do I know?!
Tomomi Eguchi photographed by Takao Yamaki, one of Japan's most accomplished erotic photographers.
Mami Katagiri, photographed here by Jin Makita in '84, enjoyed a successful spin as a popular AV idol, purveying her talents into video as well as print.
For those familiar with the work of Suze Randall, one of the most talented erotic porno-/photo-graphers in the world (her attention to location and color co-ordination is revelatory), these tiny, handsome volumes will slip easily into the collection.
