The volume gathers more than two hundred and fifty rare physique prints from the private collection of the critic and curator Vince Aletti. Spanning the 1930s to the early 1960s, they chronicle a hidden, coded world of homoerotic imagery, once sold discreetly through mail-order catalogues and underground magazines, and pointing to an emergent queer sensibility. An accompanying personal essay traces their historical and political significance and celebrates the artistry of the makers, models and studios that brought them to life, revealing a forgotten chapter of American gay culture.