Irving Klaw

Calling himself the "King of Pin-ups," Irving Klaw (November 9, 1910 – September 3, 1966) was a publisher, writer, and director. He frequently created fetish and Hollywood glamour pin-up photographs and films. Like Charles Guyette, a fetish artist and photographer, he was one of the icons of fetish art and its development.

Irving Klaw was a true pioneer in the world of bondage fetish photography, where the images and films of the legendary Bettie Page played a fundamental role in establishing Page as a major pin-up icon. Klaw was born on November 9, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York. Irving and his sister Paula opened a second-hand bookstore in Manhattan in the late 1930s. After noticing the high demand, Klaw began selling erotic photo cards. He eventually stopped selling books entirely and moved the shop from a basement to a street-level storefront. He nicknamed his shop the "King of Pin-Ups." Irving also started a highly lucrative international mail-order business specializing in selling cheesecake photos of film stars.

In the late 1940s, Klaw began photographing bondage fetish models of beautiful women. His first bondage fetish model was Lili Dawn. Klaw and his sister Paula also photographed famous dancers such as Lili St. Cyr, Tempest Storm, Baby Lake, and Blaze Starr. Irving rented the third floor of the Movie Star News building and converted it into a shooting studio. Klaw's photographs of Bettie Page were particularly popular and successful. In the mid-1950s, Irving directed burlesque productions such as Varietease (1954), Teaserama (1955), and Buxom Beautease (1956). He also made many 8mm and 16mm black-and-white adult films; the most important and famous of these were those he made with Bettie Page.

In 1955, Klaw was investigated by the Senate Subcommittee on Obscene and Pornographic Publications. His telephones were also tapped, and his mail was frequently intercepted by the FBI, leading to arrests. In 1963, Irving produced his models' films Intimate Diary (1963) and Nature's Sweethearts (1963) (he also directed the latter). However, due to heavy social pressure and constant government harassment, Klaw burned % 80 of his negatives. Irving Klaw died on September 3, 1966, at the age of 55, from complications of untreated appendicitis.