Believe it or not, LA was once a hotbed of quality underground newspapers. Open City (1967 – 1969), the Los Angeles Reader (1978 – 1996) and its successor New Times LA (1996 – 2002), and arguably the crown jewel, the L.A. Free Press, a legendary rag printed from 1966 – 1976. The Beat has learned about a great website called ADSAUSAGE which, among other things, has posted a retrospective of high quality scans of ads and covers from that paper. J.J. Englender, the historian/archivist responsible for the website says it best: “With essays on movies, music and regional places of interest, it’s a fascinating look into the days of: Kaleidoscope, KMET, the Peace and Freedom Party, experimental film at Cinematheque-16, psychedelic coffee houses on Fairfax, and double-features at the Mayan.”
The rest of the website is definitely worth a look – ADSAUSAGE is a glorious repository of vintage advertising, curated since 2004 “from the personal archives of the late international business magnate, Sir Roger Delfont.” Covering fashion, film, design, consumer items, LA history and more, these ads will take you back.
I happen to have a few Free Presses from the early ’70s and they are a hoot; I wish I could scan them as well. They ranged in size from 9×12 to 12×17, folded. The journalism is top notch, but the very x-rated classifieds and ads (like, XXX, Times Square in the ’70s x-rated) are a wonder to behold. ADSAUSAGE keeps it clean, all the more reason for you to enjoy the vintage glory of LA.
