Explain Cavalier magazine to me, please.

By Charlie Kondek

In a roundabout way, Cavalier magazine came up in conversation the other day. (A colleague said the phrase "cavalier" had been ruined by the sedate car, and I said it always reminded me of the magazine.)

I have never been clear on what Cavalier published, only that I see the occasional piece from the magazine's 50-some-year run in anthologies. So I looked it up and found that not only did a lot of writers and artists of real girth publish there, but the magazine is still publishing (NSFW), and apparently it's pretty much... well... soft core porn. I knew the magazine had gotten smutty but I never knew where it drew the line between "men's interest" and "raunch" nor the history of it's content.

Now, can anyone explain to me how a magazine that once published Isaac Asimov and Jimmy Breslin now publishes dreck like it's turning out now (which is, to me, more entertaining in a kitschy way than anything at Maxim or the like)? Intriguing scan of a 1967 issue here at the always fun I'm Learning to Share and a great one of a 1954 ad at Vintage Scans.