Late last year I started researching the now defunct magazines that burst onto the gay scene in the

late 1960's when the U.S. courts legalized the publication of male frontal nudity. One of the more interesting titles I came across was The Edwardians, published by Neil Edwards (1939-2003) 

out of Philadelphia.  A good photographer, Neil worked in the field only from 1964 to 1969 when his studio was raided by the Philly police.  They confiscated all his equipment, negatives, and prints, but when they later discovered that the courts would not sustain a conviction, they claimed that the raid had never happened.  As a result of this travesty, Mr. Edwards' work is not as widely available as it should be.

The loss of his business assets ruined Neil Edwards, both emotionally and financially, and he was confined to a mental hospital for a time.  He eventually recovered, however, and became a computer programmer who went on to invent the Sabre airline reservation system.  We start our series with Marty Stewart who posed for the cover of this issue when he was "discovered" on a trip Edwards made to New Orleans.

We must never forget those who struggled and suffered to attain the freedom we now enjoy.