Toilet Trysting: Vintage Glory Hole
The notion of fucking through a small hole in a barrier wall probably dates back to ribald riffs on Ovid’s tale of Pyramus and Thisbe. The earliest depiction in erotic art that I’ve come across is this glory hole between toilets illustration by Paul Gavarni, the date for which is sometimes given as “circa 1840” and sometimes as “circa 1852”:
The artwork is often found cropped narrow and tall, as on this postcard-type board:
It was not easy finding a large and complete scan of the uncropped work.
Interestingly, the art is usually found with the incredibly pretentious title The Place Of Pleasure attached to it. But one source (a poor digital photo from Erotic Art – From the 17th to the 20th Century: The Dopp Collection) not only offers us a much earthier title, it also seems to show us a more sensitive treatment of the coloring, if that is not just a photographic artifact:
According to that book/photo, the artwork is called Das Astloch (The Knothole). Does this make sense, when the gloryhole in question is an engineered contrivance of riveted metal plates? Perhaps not. But I like it better nonetheless.
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Perhaps the knothole was getting frayed, so they had to reinforce it ;)
I have seen some glory holes in thin material that were getting worn into portals…