Early 1950s Tijuana Bible, a Humorous Pamphlet About Urination

Tijuana bibles were palm-sized comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. Their popularity peaked during the Great Depression era.

h/t: vintag.es

Most Tijuana bibles were obscene parodies of popular newspaper comic strips of the day, such as “Blondie”, “Barney Google”, “Moon Mullins”, “Popeye”, “Tillie the Toiler”, “The Katzenjammer Kids”, “Dick Tracy”, “Little Orphan Annie”, and “Bringing Up Father”.

Others made use of characters based on popular movie stars, and sports stars of the day, such as Mae West, Clark Gable and Joe Louis, sometimes with names thinly changed. Before World War II, almost all the stories were humorous and frequently were cartoon versions of well-known dirty jokes that had been making the rounds for decades.

The artists, writers, and publishers of these booklets are generally unknown, as their publication was illegal, clandestine, and anonymous. The quality of the artwork varied widely. The subjects are explicit sexual escapades usually featuring well-known newspaper comic strip characters, movie stars, and (rarely) political figures, invariably used without respect for either copyright or libel law and without permission.

The typical bible was an eight-panel comic strip in a wallet-sized 2.5 in × 4 in (64 mm × 102 mm) format with black print on cheap white paper and running eight pages in length.






If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

Netherworlds: The Fantastic Worlds of John Pak

Glorious Pieces Of Handwriting In The Most Unusual Places

16 Images That Perfectly Capture How Completely Nuts Modern Life Has Become

1960 Ford Spaceliner, a Vehicle That Looks a Bit Like a Spaceship From a Science-Fiction Movie

The Superb Black & White Retro Sci-Fi Pencil Drawings by Juan Osorno

"Awards for Good Boys" : Hilarious Illustrations by Shelby Lorman

Amazing Vintage Photos Of Betty Broadbent, The ‘Tattooed Venus’ From The Late 1930s

Beautiful Minimalist Pastel Portraits by Japanese Illustrator 192

These Animal Illustrations Accurately Express Our Monday Blues And Friday Feels

Relatable Illustrations Hilariously Reveal the Difficulties of Adulthood

Illustrations Of Delicious Cheat Meals That Might Make Your Inner Foodie Jump For Joy

Wow! Santa Hat Brownies!

Spectacular Winning Photos Of Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Early Polaroid Photos Using Polaroid SX-70 Camera by LIFE Photographer Co Rentmeester, 1972

These Amazing Pics Show Impressive Beards Of The 19th Century Men You Rarely See Today

"The Chronicle Of Unregistered Processes": Contemporary Social Art By Mila Arbuzova

An Artist Creates Adorable Animal Art To Hopefully Make You Smile

Incredible Graphic Posters Designed by Leo Marfurt in the 1920s and ’30s

Retro Revival: The Art Deco-Inspired Illustrations of Anta Alek

How Delicious Food Looks From A Woman's Point Of View

"A Nature Unknown": Couple Created a Series of Illustrations Inspired By the Outdoors

Simple Illustrations Reveal Endearing Moments of Love in Life's Everyday Moments

Artist Spent 116 Hours In Total To Create All These Drawings Of His Childhood Objects From The Nineties

This Cambodian Artist Is Taking Doodling To Another Level

Amazing Make-Up Artist Creates Super-Cute Pictures On A Unique Canvas - Her Eyes

85-Year-Old Farmer Given Makeover By Grandson And Is Transformed Into Fashion Icon

20 Punk Bands Of The 1980s You've Never Heard Of

This Artist Challenges Logic With His Surreal Photo Manipulations

Design Studio Creates Stunning Retro 8 Bit Gaming Roller Blinds

Artist Dad Turns His 5-Year-Old Daughter’s Endearing Sayings Into Hilarious Illustrations