ELMER BATTERS The Parliament Years Early 1960s

From the "tip of the toes to the top of the hose" was the motto of Elmer Batters and the Royal Order of the Garter which began with his self-published magazines in the late 1950s and took off with his contributions to Parliament publications in Los Angeles. Here are a few titles from the early/mid-'60s which put Batters and Parliament on the map and for the first time created competition for the long reigning East Coast publishers of slick, quality men's magazines. More about Elmer here.

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ELMER BATTERS Black Silk Stockings late '50s

Prior to Tip Top, The Nylon Jungle and his catch phrase Tip of the Toes to the Top of the Hose, Elmer Batters created Black Silk Stockings at the end of the 1950s. Photographed, designed and published by Batters these, the earliest full-size "garters & hose" magazines, set the bar for what would soon follow from Parliament magazines in the early '60s ... with the content and editorial direction in Batters' hands. 

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PARLIAMENT Publications Photos Late 1960s/1970s

A selection of glossy 8 x 10"s by various photographers for Parliament Publications, including images by Elmer Batters, from a recently purchased collection. Late 1960s, early 1970s busty models, the focus on their legs, garter belts, stockings and high heels.

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Elmer Batters photographs above and below. 
That's Batters' Chevy Impala she's crawling out of!

Michelle Angelo on the right

Suzanne Pritchard busty poggo sticker

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PARLIAMENT Publications: L.A. Hose & Heels 1960s

When Los Angeles got into the men's magazine game it, the publishers and photographers, never looked back, claiming the genre for their own. Let's say for argument's sake that the full size, adult bookstore type magazine (no advertising; restricted to non-newsstand sales to 18 and over) began in the late 1950s on the East Coast and migrated to Los Angeles as the precursors to Parliament publications began to appear around that same time. Elmer Batters started his own publishing company, circa 1958, with Black Silk Stockings, Sheer Delight and Leg-O-Rama. His influence upon Parliament Publications cannot be overestimated and in circa 1961 they started a line of magazines under the banner of the American Art Agency.

By 1963 Parliament had hired Batters and many of their groundbreaking publications, now classics for collectors, were filled with his photographs and layouts. Soon "from the tip of the toes to the top of the hose" would became synonymous not only with Batters work but with Parliament magazines in general. Here's a selection from the archives.

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