Miriam Kerpen and Lisa Shufro

“I went into Uncle Jake's room and opened up the dictionary, and in the middle was hidden a magazine...”

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84-year-old Miriam Kerpen to her daughter, Lisa Shufro.

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Recorded in New York, NY.

Miriam Kerpen and Lisa Shufro

Interview transcript

MK: I was thirteen at the time so this was 1933. I went into Uncle Jake’s room and opened the dictionary and in the middle of the dictionary was hidden a magazine called Spicy Stories. Spicy Stories was pictures it, it I guess it qualifies as porn, I’m not sure but it was mostly pictures of naked ladies dressed in jewelry and high heels and it absolutely was astonishing to me. And I wrote down the name of the publisher and I wrote to them and said, Please, I’m gonna be going to be going away to camp this summer but I would appreciate a subscription. And I would appreciate it if you would send it in plain cover It was a dollar for a subscription. I sent the dollar. and then forgot about it. It was over and done and I went to camp. And one day I was called in front of the head counselor who said, This came in the mail for you. And there was Spicy Stories

LS: No plain cover.

MK: No plain cover.

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