Fans of Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman
» Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
Link was an early 20th American century magazine that carried personal ads.
Link specialised in the lonely-hearts column. Personal ads had been around since the late 17th century, but this was the first magazine entirely devoted to the search for marriage and companionship. This idea proved so shocking to early 20th-century public opinion that the title was closed down in 1921, and Barrett was sentenced to two years’hard labour for corrupting public morals. The trouble was partly the suggestion that some female advertisers were looking for love on a professional basis, and partly the suggestion that man-to-man advertising of a suspicious nature was taking place at a time when homosexual acts were illegal.
The police were particularly interested in the number of young men who claimed to be artistic, musical, unconventional, or fans of Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman. …
Classified: The Secret History of the Personal Column by HG Cocks