The female leg is a sexual oddity. Its non-genital, nearly identical in structure to the corresponding male body part, and there is no obvious reason why it should be eroticized. Yet, through much of history, across many cultures, the female leg was hidden from sight and treated as such a taboo topic that it became an object of intense sexual obsession. In the Victorian era, the word leg was so forbidden that it couldnt be uttered in polite society. Even now, 80 years after women legs came out of hiding, their allure remains strong. In this third book of Dian Hanson wildly successful body parts series, she explores how freeing the female leg became central to women liberation, beginning with the French Revolution and ending with the sexual revolution. Learn who wore the first high heels, how nylons became a weapon of war, why Betty Grable were the million dollar legs, while enjoying great vintage photos by Irving Klaw Batters, and other great masters of leg art.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dian Hanson is TASCHEN's sexy book editor. As a 25-year veteran of men's magazine publishing, she edited titles including Puritan, OUI, Outlaw Biker, Juggs, and Leg Show. Her many books for TASCHEN include The Big Book of Breasts and The Big Penis Book.
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More About the Author
Dian Hanson was born in Seattle, Washington, November 2, 1951. A hippie and high school drop out, she moved east at age 20, first to Oxford, Mississippi, then Allentown, Pennsylvania, finally settling in New York City in 1976 to work on the sex magazine Puritan. Over the next 25 years she edited magazines including Partner, Oui, Adult Cinema Review, Harvey, Hooker, Juggs and Leg Show. She founded the magazines Outlaw Biker, Hawgs, Big Butt, Bust Out and Tight. In 1993 Hanson became friends with Benedikt Taschen, and in 2001 she finally agreed to leave sex magazines and take over the Sexy Book division of TASCHEN Publishing. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the novelist Geoff Nicholson.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Robin Benson
Format:Hardcover
Dian Hanson was the obvious choice to compile this huge leg book. She edited the very successful Leg Show magazine for a number of years and clearly knows everything from the toes to the top of the hose (to quote her friend Elmer Batters). The book follows sexy legs through the decades from the twenties to the sixties, mostly with photos but Hanson contributes text dealing with: cancan; flappers; Betty Grable; Nylons and WW2; Bettie Page; Elmer Batters; high heel history and the last chapter on toes. There is nothing particularly new in the text and the references to personalities and magazines are fully covered in Hanson's six-volume `History of Men's Magazines', also from Taschen.
The sixties were the great years for male connoisseurs of leg photos and thankfully the book does rather concentrate on those photographically with plenty from ace leg snapper Batters. Dian sums it up as...`a golden age of glossy nylons, stiletto heels, towering bouffants, black patent eyeliner, cigarettes dangling from thickly painted lips, martini glasses clutched by long red nails, and attitude oozing from every pore'. Fans of the genre will enjoy page after page of these hard-edged chicks that are clearly not in the Playboy girl-next-door mold.
The book's production is up to the usual Taschen standards: super design; quality paper; the four hundred plus photos are well printed (with 200dpi) though it occurred to me that many of the photos seemed untrimmed but I guess this would be a minor detail for readers.
`The Big Book of Legs' is the third body-parts title from Hanson and Taschen, after the Big Penis and Big Breasts I wonder what zone will be next?
***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
The sixties were the great years for male connoisseurs of leg photos and thankfully the book does rather concentrate on those photographically with plenty from ace leg snapper Batters. Dian sums it up as...`a golden age of glossy nylons, stiletto heels, towering bouffants, black patent eyeliner, cigarettes dangling from thickly painted lips, martini glasses clutched by long red nails, and attitude oozing from every pore'. Fans of the genre will enjoy page after page of these hard-edged chicks that are clearly not in the Playboy girl-next-door mold.
The book's production is up to the usual Taschen standards: super design; quality paper; the four hundred plus photos are well printed (with 200dpi) though it occurred to me that many of the photos seemed untrimmed but I guess this would be a minor detail for readers.
`The Big Book of Legs' is the third body-parts title from Hanson and Taschen, after the Big Penis and Big Breasts I wonder what zone will be next?
***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Roy Brown
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having purchased Dian Hanson's previous book, The Big Book of Breasts she uses the same text to explain the fascination with the sexual attraction to legs as she did with breasts.
Like her previous book, she highlights in beautiful photographs famous and ametuer nude models mostly in garter belts and heels. This is a great book as it shows the models as beautiful to the beholder of the book and she doesn't use one standard to measure the beauty of the model. E.g. breast size, weight, height. Like her previous book on breasts, she showcases models from the 50', 60's, and 70's. Seeing how women wore their hair, and weren't afraid to pose naked adds to the mystique of the models she choose to highlight. Keeping in mind, how society thought about women who would take off their clothes for pictures at that time.
This book is classic eye candy for anyone who misses those more simpler girly magazines that were not as pornographic in nature. I would recommend highly both books for those of us who enjoy looking at what women used to look like back then underneath their clothes.
Like her previous book, she highlights in beautiful photographs famous and ametuer nude models mostly in garter belts and heels. This is a great book as it shows the models as beautiful to the beholder of the book and she doesn't use one standard to measure the beauty of the model. E.g. breast size, weight, height. Like her previous book on breasts, she showcases models from the 50', 60's, and 70's. Seeing how women wore their hair, and weren't afraid to pose naked adds to the mystique of the models she choose to highlight. Keeping in mind, how society thought about women who would take off their clothes for pictures at that time.
This book is classic eye candy for anyone who misses those more simpler girly magazines that were not as pornographic in nature. I would recommend highly both books for those of us who enjoy looking at what women used to look like back then underneath their clothes.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the third book by editor, Dian Hanson detailing our fascination with human body parts. The first two being female breasts and the male penis. Like in her earlier endeavors, she provides insightful commentary here along with a visual smorgasbord that's especially designed to appeal to devotees of the female leg (and feet). Viewers are treated to superb examples of every angle and curve (and genitalia too) of womankind's bipedal magnificence. The collection of photography presented, while almost exclusively taken from rare, vintage archives, is absolutely amazing. Fans of both the female nude and vintage photography in general will be astounded by these rarely seen images. Bettie Page, Elmer Batters, and several other stars make their appearance too. All in all, this is quite possibly the finest book in Ms. Hanson's body part series (at least so far) and its 388 pages will keep leg aficionados (and feet lovers too) ... entertained for hours.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I ordered this book with the intent of hoping to see high quality erotic photography, showcasing legs and feet throughout the years. What I got when i opened it up was a book full of high quality erotic photography, showcasing legs and feet throughout the years. Yes, I got exactly what I was looking for. The Big Book of Legs is 388 pages of classic, beautiful legs, and tasty, succulent toes. The last chapter of the book showcases my favorite part of a woman's body... her feet, in an incredible way. Close ups and very direct images are what this book has to offer and I love every bit of it. Much better than The Big Book of Breasts.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Nice book, plenty of nice photos.
I will say though that the author's assertion that foot fetish is due to smell is absurd. Not all women's feet are attractive, but the ones that are, are very strictly visual and/or touch, mostly visual. Like any other part of a woman's body-her belly button, butt, legs, etc. Women are beautiful, plain and simple. There would be no foot magazines or websites if her assertion were true.
Smell is a different fetish for an even smaller minority.
I will say though that the author's assertion that foot fetish is due to smell is absurd. Not all women's feet are attractive, but the ones that are, are very strictly visual and/or touch, mostly visual. Like any other part of a woman's body-her belly button, butt, legs, etc. Women are beautiful, plain and simple. There would be no foot magazines or websites if her assertion were true.
Smell is a different fetish for an even smaller minority.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Twain
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Hey hey hey. I can't believe Im the first person to review this! Its a great book! Buy it! No, but seriously... I havent read all of the writing in it yet, there is a lot of interesting stuff but I cant stop looking at all the pictures! Most of them are masterpieces. Especially the 1960's and the Elmer Batters section. The entire book feature many unpublished (at least unpublished by Taschen) photos by Batters. Some really impressive ones with quality so good they look like they were taken today, but are in fact no younger than about 40 years. The quality of the book is the best Ive seen from Taschen. My favorite stuff is Batters, and any fan of his will want this book. There are photos of him at work with the models, an essay, and neat neat neat pictures.
Bettie Page. It also includes an entire chapter on Bettie Page. Many photos of Bettie by Bunny Yeagers, Paula Klaw and maybe some others. There is a little bit of Bondage also, but not much, some stuff with whips and stilleto heels. A few early Bizarre magazine type stuff. Also some stuff from the 40s and 50s (early Batters too)
Basically this is for you if you are interested in the best leg photography, high heels, pretty feet, shinny black nylons, garter belts, with very few if any naked croth shots (trust me you dont need them), The only thing better are the 2 Elmer Batters books previously published by Taschen.
Ill update when I get further along on the reading, maybe.
NOW GET THIS THING ALREADY!
Bettie Page. It also includes an entire chapter on Bettie Page. Many photos of Bettie by Bunny Yeagers, Paula Klaw and maybe some others. There is a little bit of Bondage also, but not much, some stuff with whips and stilleto heels. A few early Bizarre magazine type stuff. Also some stuff from the 40s and 50s (early Batters too)
Basically this is for you if you are interested in the best leg photography, high heels, pretty feet, shinny black nylons, garter belts, with very few if any naked croth shots (trust me you dont need them), The only thing better are the 2 Elmer Batters books previously published by Taschen.
Ill update when I get further along on the reading, maybe.
NOW GET THIS THING ALREADY!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice pictures!
This book has great and beautiful pictures. If you like girls in nylons then this is the book for you.
Published 24 days ago by Lee Dowdy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
I liked the great quality images, great book for coffee table or collector of nostalgia. Highly recommended, and a must for the mancave
Published 3 months ago by Derrick Still
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love Dian Hanson
Again, classy photographs with an erotic edge. I love the series of books that are out and I'm happy to say this is part of my collection. Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. Hunter
3.0 out of 5 stars
More for the stocking and toes men
This is a good book for telling the history of our love of legs, and also the photography of the female leg. I take some exception with Dian's lack of enthusiam with Betty Grable. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Anthony Genualdi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lotsa Legs and their adornments
This is one in a series of Taschen "Big Book(s)" that feature various parts of the female anatomy. (There is one featuring men which I suppose some women and gay men might like. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Russell Moker
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