Charles Guyette (August 14, 1902 – June, 1976)[1] was a pioneer of fetish style,[2] the first person in the United States to produce and distribute fetish art,[3] and regarded as the mail-order predecessor of Irving Klaw.[4] Later known as the "G-String King,"[5] he is best remembered for his bizarre (i.e., fetish) photographs, some of which featured sadomasochistic content.[6]
Biography
Guyette worked as an innovative burlesque costumer and dealer in theatrical accessories,[7][8] providing vintage corsets,[9]opera gloves, custom-made fetish boots,[10] and, most famously, G-strings.[11] Employed by National Police Gazette editor, Edythe Farrell, he later provided costumes, high heel shoes and boots, and occasionally photographs for publisher Robert Harrison,[12][13] known for pin-up magazines such as Wink, Titter,Beauty Parade,Whisper, and Eyeful. He was also important in early fetish community social circles of the day[14] and in the careers of John Willie and Irving Klaw.[15] Guyette was a fetish fashion pioneer.
In 1935, Guyette went to federal prison, becoming the first martyr of fetish art history.[16] Later, he operated under a series of aliases and owned a costume shop on West 45th Street in New York City.[17] Largely uncredited in his lifetime, Guyette influenced key fetish art innovators, including Irving Klaw, John Willie, Eric Stanton, and Leonard Burtman.[18] The subject of a book tribute, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Art,[19] he is also featured in the independent biopic on Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston. The film Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, written and directed by Angela Robinson,[20][21] features Guyette as the costumer for Wonder Woman's real-life inspiration, Olive Byrne.[22] Guyette is played by actor JJ Feild.[23]
^[1] Social Security Death Index Retrieved 10 October 2017.
^Robert V. Bienvenu II, The Development of Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style in the Twentieth-Century United States (PhD dissertation) Indiana: Indiana University, 1998. p.72.
^Richard Pérez Seves, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art New York: FetHistory, 2017. p. 119.
^J.B. Rund, The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline (Second Edition, Revised & Enlarged) New York: Bélier Press, 1999. p. 92.
^Rachel Shteir, Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 201
^Richard Pérez Seves, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art New York: FetHistory, 2017. pp. 119 - 120.
^Pérez Seves, Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground, pp. 33.
^[2] Austin Sunday American Statesman Newspaper Archives, Oct 10 1948. Retrieved 10 October 2017
^Robert V. Bienvenu II, The Development of Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style in the Twentieth-Century United States (PhD dissertation) Indiana: Indiana University, 1998. p.78.
^Richard Pérez Seves, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art New York: FetHistory, 2017. pp. 134 - 137.
Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art [*Cream Paper Edition*] by Richard Pérez Seves. New York: FetHistory, 2019. ISBN978-1077679689
Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground by Richard Pérez Seves. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2018. ISBN978-0764355424
Possibilities: The Photographs of John Willie edited by J.B. Rund. New York: Bélier Press, 2016. ISBN978-0914646495
The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline edited by J.B. Rund.(Second Edition, Revised & Enlarged) New York: Bélier Press, 1999. ISBN0-914646-48-6
Charles Guyette’s High Heeled Shoes: Photographs circa 1940 by George Monk. Amazon Digital Services (Kindle), 2014. ASINB00J0HAMNO
The Development of Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style in the Twentieth-Century United States (PhD dissertation) by Robert V. Bienvenu II. Indiana: Indiana University, 1998.
External links
Pérez Seves, Richard (n.d.). "FetHistory". fethistory.blogspot.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
