Stripteasers of 1937

Preorder. Anticipated delivery Oct 2026.

In 1937, the word “burlesque” was banned from New York City.

In the early months of that fateful year, striptease reigned. Not only in the houses of “burlycue”—14 Broadway-sized theatres in NYC alone, packed with audiences eager to cheer for the erotic disrobing and groan at the antiquated comedy bits—but in night clubs, variety shows, and cabarets.

Yet trouble was brewing in the prudish halls of power. A confederacy of censors conspired to expel ecdysiasts from New York City. The reform-minded mayor and his hand- picked license commissioner were cheered on by religious potentates and the vigilant voyeurs of the Society for the Suppression of Vice.

The year was not halfway done when their schemes came to fruition and the words “burlesque” and “striptease” were forbidden on New York's billboards, marquees, and advertising. Fans protested and anti-censorship advocates decried the abuse of power, but in vain. In just a few years, burlesque’s excommunication from Gotham was complete, an injustice which persisted for almost two decades.

In 2025, burlesque performer and historian Jonny Porkpie embarked on a quest to find the undressers on the front lines of this battle against burlesque: the stripteasers who risked arrest to entertain audiences in that fateful year. 

These are those stripteasers, celebrated -- some for the very first time -- in their own collector cards showcased in photograps and eyewitness descriptions of their performances. 

Each deck includes 160 cards featuring 150+ stripteasers, in a magnetic closure rigid box. After a successful Kickstarter (600% funded!) the decks are now available for preorder. Projected shipping date: Early October.