Began his business with the magazine "Movie Star News" in 1947. His family business was a store in New York, he also was involved into comic books and magazines with amazing female heroes. When he saw that kids were coming into his store and ripping out photos of their favorite movie celebrities from the magazines, he got an idea. He and his sister Paula started selling photos. People could come in to the Movie Star News storefront and page through files of photos and buy them for 5 cents. Some of the male audience began requesting specialized illegal erotic and fetish photos. Then Irving Klaw started his studio, using models like Bettie Page, Baby Lake, Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr, Lili St. Cyr, Klaw Studio filming did also produce the Varietease movies. In 1955. When Klaw's studio came under goverment attack for the bondage photos with Bettie Page, were he forced to burn hundreds of negatives. Its estimated that he destroyed around 3/4 of all his work, but its not known for sure. The classic photo works which have survived in personal collections can be found on the internet in bits and pices. Irving Klaw died somewhere in the 1960'ties some claim due to the stress of goverment prosecution and constant problems around his work caused by the present moral laws, the same factor that also made life difficult for Elmer Batters.

Irvin Klaw

A "lay-out" for a typical Klaw Magazine

Most of all are Klaw known for his photographic artwork into the S/M world and his photos uses female domination as a center for his fantastic set-up.
The use of high heels and nylons are mixed with bondage and otk (over the knee) in booth the inocent and the more exposed bizzare style.

Most know are the Bondage series with bettie Page which to this day is a classic and the evergreen in the art of the erotic photos. As they are the most known, i desided not to pick anyone of them into the Klaw gallery but to use his more unknow work from booth the early years into the last things he did before he died. Some of the photos seems very vilolent and are clearly a product of male fiction, but its worth to remmber that Bettie page in a interwiev in 1998 stated that its acting and no harm or sexual explotation did ever take place during the makings of the photos. They where all simulated and set up's. Klaw knew what his audience wanted to see and read about and he provided the male audience with a huge amount of magazines and pictures which today are classics and considert a study to take if you want to make s/m photos.

Did Klaw express his personal sexual choise ? Maybe you will be able to decide for yourself after looking over the photos in the gallery at the end of this page. His first photos where a orders or requests from custummers in his magazineshop which imagiantion went beyond just seeing thier favorit pin up pose in a dress or swimsuit in a legal way according to the time. Klaw had to do the set up and arange the postures of the models, he did that in a art full way to manys taste, considert the conditons and equipment used at the time. The works are today a part of the pin up and erotic histrory. 

Irving Klaw directing Bettie Page in one of his Teaserarama movies

Bettie Page and Irvin Klaw

Even today are Klaw's works reason for much discusion, as the fetish itself are, in most countrys around the world are s/m considert a phykological distress or mental disorder. One country in the world has taken it of its list over mental illness, Denmark this country was also the first in the world to legalize erotic photos and porn in 1968. I cant help thinking that the many makers of erotic photos living in the US cut had a much more easy and plesant life if they just had been born or lived there, what great work might they have achived if they where not limited by goverment rules and silly morals envented by politicians who themself did infidelity beyond the laws they made for the society. Robert kennedy littel brother of President J. F. Kenndy made life hell for booth Klaw and Batters, this is today a sad thing under the knowledge that Pres Kennedy did drugs and had sex with 100 of women even in the White house. We have a saying in my country "The worst are the holly once's" how true these word are looking at the events who past during the 1950 and 60'ties. How sad it is that Irving Klaw did not himself live to see his work become "classic's". Enjoy or get offended of some of his classic work in the gallery, its your choise living in a free world today.

Click picture to see Irwing Klaw Gallery