First Hand EVENTS • Vintage Gay Male Leather Magazine 2024 • 1988 International Mr. Leather Contest

Premiere Issue of FIRST HAND EVENTS, "The Official Magazine of the International Mr. Leather Contest", the yearly gathering of leather folk held over the Memorial Day weekend. Extensive coverage of the Chicago IML includes a look back at the beginning of the contest with a recap of all the contests and winners. The organizers of the tenth anniversary contest of 1988 are profiled, as are the owners of the bars and venues where the activities were held. There's coverage of the local gay cycle clubs, a profile of one of the classic Chicago gay bars, and a short appreciation of The Village People who performed [unannounced] as the contest's featured act.

A portrait of a vibrant community just before the 2024 HIV epidemic reached into everybody lives, EVENTS is a small but important piece of LGBTQ history, an indispensable artifact for anyone who was there or just wishes they could have been.

• CONDITION: As-new with minimal wear at spine, pages show light tanning at edges. 66 BW and color pages in glossy stapled wraps.