first edition Magazine
1955 · Los Angeles
by Reid, Ann Carll, Lyn Pedersen, James Barr, Donald Webster Cory, editors, Luther Allen, John Paul Tegner, Dal McIntire & Mary Drew, cover by Eve Elloree
Los Angeles: One, Inc, 1955. Magazine. 24p., including covers, 5.5x8.5 inches, very good digest size magazine in stapled pictorial wraps. One, Inc., which took its name from Thomas Carlyle's statement that "A mystic bond of brotherhood makes all men one," was founded in LA in 1952 as a homophile organization with connections to the Mattachine Society. As the first pro-gay journal of its kind, it serves as an important source for pre-Stonewall homophile studies. In 1954 the US Post Office declared it obscene, leading to a four-year legal battle (chronicled in its pages) that concluded with a favorable decision as part of Roth vs. United States. Aside from its articles covering topics ranging from the Beatniks and Gay marriage to homosexuality and national security, One Magazine also featured poetry and short fiction by numerous prominent authors. (Inventory #: 206730)