Description

William and John was first published in January 1972 as a 40 page black and white monthly A4 magazine, with a colour cover and centre spread. It was one of the first commercial gay porn magazines produced in Australia. The publishers had an affiliated mail order business offering readers a range of products, including photographs, novelty sex greeting cards, posters and imported sex toys. The first editors were William Easton and John Baker, and they published under W.J. Publishing Company. By early 1973 William and John was facing prosecution on obscenity charges in both NSW and Victoria, and the company was shut down after releasing just eight issues. The Archives’ complete set has been digitised in GALE’s Archives of Sexuality and Gender.