Irving Klaw: The Pin-Up King and Fetish Pioneer of 14th Street
Irving Klaw was born on 9 November 1910 in Brooklyn, New York, into a family supported by his father’s work as a Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (BMT) subway conductor. Irving’s father died when he was still in high school, leaving behind a family of six children—three boys and three girls. Among them was his step-sister Paula, who would later play a pivotal role in his career. This early loss marked a challenging beginning for Klaw, who would grow into a determined and resourceful entrepreneur.
From Books to Movie Stars: The Rise of Movie Star News
In 1938, Irving and Paula opened a basement-level used bookstore at 209 E. 14th Street in Manhattan. The shop struggled initially, but Klaw noticed a peculiar trend: teenagers were tearing photos of movie stars out of the magazines he sold. This inspired him to pivot from selling books to selling movie star stills and lobby photo cards. These glossy, glamorous images proved so popular that Klaw abandoned books entirely and moved the store to a street-level storefront.
Renaming the business Irving Klaw’s Pin-Up Photo and later Movie Star News, he became a central figure in the growing market for Hollywood memorabilia. The shop attracted customers both locally and internationally through a burgeoning mail-order business. Klaw styled himself as the “Pin-Up King,” thriving in the trade of cheesecake photos and glamorous pin-ups that captured the allure of mid-century Hollywood.
Venturing into Fetish Art
In 1948, Klaw took his business in a more controversial direction, encouraged by a collector named Little John. At a time when mainstream society considered such material taboo, Klaw began producing and selling fetish-themed content. Inspired by the underground art of John Willie and the provocative work of publisher Robert Harrison, Klaw introduced themes of bondage and domination into his catalogue.
Models like Barbara Leslie, Vicky Hayes, and Joan “Eve” Rydell posed for these daring photo shoots, but it was Bettie Page who became the star of Klaw’s operation. With her playful smile and commanding presence, Page embodied the mix of glamour and edginess that defined Klaw’s work. Alongside his photography, Klaw commissioned illustrations from artists such as Eric Stanton, Gene Bilbrew, and Adolfo Ruiz, creating serialized fetish-adventure stories sold via mail order.
Burlesque and Film Loops
Klaw expanded into filmmaking in the early 1950s, spurred by the success of Striporama (1953), a B-movie burlesque revue. He produced and directed Varietease (1954) and Teaserama (1955), both shot in vivid Eastman colour and featuring stars like Lili St. Cyr, Tempest Storm, and Bettie Page. These films were essentially showcases of striptease acts, appealing to an audience eager for risqué entertainment.
During this period, Klaw also produced hundreds of short, silent 8 mm and 16 mm film loops that catered to niche interests. Titles like Riding the Human Pony Girl and Jungle Girl Tied to Trees featured women in lingerie and high heels, performing staged bondage and fetish scenarios. These sessions, often photographed in the studio above Movie Star News or in nearby lofts, also generated countless still images sold through Klaw’s mail-order catalogue Cartoon and Model Parade.
Censorship and the Kefauver Hearings
Klaw’s success attracted the attention of moral watchdogs during the conservative 1950s. In 1956, his sister Fanny Cronin was arrested for her involvement in a $2 million “pornographic films and photos mill” in New Jersey, drawing public scrutiny to Klaw’s operations. The following year, the Kefauver Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency targeted Klaw, attempting to link his mail-order business to societal decay. These hearings, echoing McCarthy-era paranoia, labelled Klaw a “degenerate pornographer.” Bettie Page was subpoenaed but was never called to testify.
Facing mounting legal pressure, Klaw was forced to shut down Movie Star News. He burned more than 80% of his negatives, a devastating blow to his body of work. However, Paula secretly preserved some of the most striking images, ensuring their survival for future generations.
Relocation and Final Years
After closing his New York storefront, Klaw moved his Nutrix Publishing Company to Jersey City, New Jersey, operating as a mail-order-only business. For several years, he published bondage-themed booklets with titles such as Girls Punishment at School of Discipline (1962) and Tortured Models in the Wax Exhibit (1962). These publications kept his work alive despite increased censorship.
In 1963, Klaw briefly returned to filmmaking in Florida, collaborating with photographer Bunny Yeager on Nature’s Sweethearts and Intimate Diary of an Artist’s Model. These films marked a departure from his earlier work, leaning into the “nudie cutie” genre with a focus on topless women rather than fetish themes.
Klaw’s career came to an end when Robert F. Kennedy’s anti-pornography campaign led to a conviction for conspiracy to send obscene materials through the mail. He died on 3 September 1966 from untreated appendicitis, leaving behind two sons, Arthur and Jeffrey.
Legacy and Cultural Revival
Though his career ended amid controversy, Irving Klaw’s work found renewed interest in the 1980s with the revival of Bettie Page’s image as a cultural icon. Compilations such as Irving Klaw Bondage Classics and Bettie Page: Bondage Queen brought his films and photographs to new audiences, and his surviving work became recognised as a cornerstone of fetish art history. In 2012, Klaw was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame, acknowledging his influence on alternative subcultures.