The December, 1964 (Volume 5, number 6) issue of Bachelor magazine published a five page photo spread of a “hypnotism party”. The photographs include female nudity.
“What will they think of next? Among the arty set, the old party pickups like alcohol and marijuana just can’t hold a candle to the kicks one can get from a candle-waving hypnotist.”
“During soiree at sculptor Ed Lass’ apartment in N.Y.‘s Lower East Side, dull moments were ended when hypnotism began.”
Bachelor magazine was a bi-monthly ‘men’s’ magazine, with a purchase price of 60¢. The issue is dived into several sections with titles such as ‘Bachelor Tales’ (stories) and ‘Bachelor Girls’ (photo shoots). This photo-spread was in the section entitled ‘Bachelor Exclusives’ which were articles of purported interest of men.
Despite the lascivious and lurid connotations from the flavor text, this appears to be a general demonstration of basic hypnosis techniques in association with art modelling. It would not surprise me that the woman subject is accustomed to modelling naked.
The time frame of the article puts it near the end of the Bridey Murphy hypnosis craze, although the article does not state when it occurred, but it does say that this was not just a one-time thing, so it is hard to say when it first started. There is also nothing that says how widespread this is, as intimated, or whether this is just one person. Also, the hypnotist is described as an avant-garde artist and amateur hypnotist.
The article includes four more pages of photographs, half in B&W and half in color. The more (relatively) lurid photographs are in color.
When artists get together it’s time for some artistry to put some life into the party — like the ability of a clever man to put an entrancing-looking beauty into a trance.
