Shining Sun Where The Sun Don’t Shine

There was a time when nudist magazines were also considered taboo nudie magazines. Sunshine & Health was one of the sought after books for both the followers of sunbathing and the enjoyers of the consequence thereof. It was published by The Rev. Ilsley Boone, also known as “Uncle Danny” ( 1879-1968). His wiki says he was “a charismatic speaker and powerful organizer” and is the father of the American Sunbathing Association (ASA).

Boone opened Sunshine Park in New Jersey in 1931 as the ASA national headquarters. “Uncle Danny” demanded a regimen of abstinence from liquor, vegetarianism, calisthenics, and mandatory nudity at all times. He published the first nudist magazine in the U.S., The Nudist and Sunshine & Health. “Even with the genitals airbrushed out of the photos, the U.S. Postal Service decided the materials were obscene and couldn’t be distributed through the U.S. mail.” The legal action went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Rev. Boone won the right to distribute nudist materials through the mail — a major milestone for future generations of men’s magazines.

For Boone, sunshine and health went hand in glove with free-living. Still, I wonder whether he had to have the participants sign releases.