Essex House only existed for a couple of years, namely 1968-1969, but in that time they released over 40 books by the likes of Philip José Farmer, Charles Bukowski, and David Meltzer. They specialized in an odd mix of higbhbrow erotica and dystopian sci-fi, and although a publisher in the ‘60s hardly needed quality art to sell fuckbooks, the imprint’s owner, Milton Luros, was a former illustrator who clearly valued a strong visual identity. (Mr. Luros would also find himself defending his possession of a trove of sexy pictures in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971.)
Sadly, the illustrators who did the imprint’s most distinctive covers were uncredited, so the name of the psychedelic artists responsible for Essex’s visual vibe may remain forever obscure. Their covers weren’t ALL of this type—there were some where the standard stick-a-photo-of-a-naked-woman-on-it approach held sway—but the majority of them were in line with the company’s eye-bleedy visual identity.
If none of the foregoing tipped you off that some of this might be NSFW, I don’t know what else to tell you.
Covers reproduced from a collection found at Paris Olympia Press.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
LSD Orgy Exposé: Have an acid flashback with these psychedelic book covers
Good Show Sir: Blog of the Worst SF/Fantasy Book Covers Ever
Psychoactive sci-fi surrealism: The book covers that inspired XTC’s Andy Partridge