Eros Magazine, Volume 1, Number 4, published in the winter of 1962, was the fourth and final issue of the ambitious and controversial quarterly edited by Ralph Ginzburg . Like its predecessors, this issue was produced as a lavish, hardcover book, measuring approximately 13″ x 10″ and containing 96 pages of content that blended artistic sophistication with themes of love and sex . The cover for this number featured a reproduction of Albrecht Dürer’s depiction of Adam and Eve .
This final issue continued the magazine’s mission to explore erotica as a serious subject, featuring a diverse and provocative array of contributors and topics . The contents of Volume 1, Number 4 included:
- “Love in the Bible” by Rufus Mott .
- “A Letter From Allan Ginsberg” .
- “Was Shakespeare a Homosexual?” by John Erno Russell .
- “The Long After Midnight Girl,” a short story by Ray Bradbury .
- “The Sexual Side of Anti-Semitism” by Shepherd Raymond .
- Excerpts from “My Life and Loves” by Frank Harris .
- “President Harding’s Second Lady” by John Hejno .
- “Black and White in Color,” a photographic essay by Ralph Hattersley, Jr. .
- “The Jewel Box Revue,” a photographic essay by Raymond Jacobs .
- A free adaptation of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata by Ivan Grazni .
The issue also featured artwork by masters such as Rembrandt and Goltzius, as well as contributions from notable modern illustrators like Milton Glaser .
Despite its intellectual aspirations, Eros magazine drew the ire of authorities . While a fifth issue was in production, publisher Ralph Ginzburg was indicted for sending “obscene matter through the mails” under the Comstock Act . In December 1963, he was convicted and eventually served an eight-month prison sentence, effectively ending the magazine’s run after this fourth issue . Today, surviving copies of Eros, particularly this final number, are sought-after collectibles, representing a pivotal moment in the battle between artistic expression and censorship in 20th-century America
