Editing John Willie

{{Short description|British artist and photographer}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
|name=John Willie
|image=
|caption=One of Willie's cartoons for ''Bizarre''
|birth_name=John Alexander Scott Coutts
|birth_date={{birth date|df=y|1902|12|9}}
|birth_place=[[Colony of Singapore|British Singapore]]
|death_date={{death date and age|df=y|1962|8|5|1902|12|9}}
|death_place=[[Guernsey]], British Isles
|occupation={{hlist|artist|photographer|comic strip cartoonist|magazine publisher and editor}}(1946–1956)
|known_for = Sweet Gwendoline, Publisher of the first 20 issues of ''Bizarre'' magazine (1946-1956).<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 329.</ref>
}}
'''John Alexander Scott Coutts''' (9 December 1902 – 5 August 1962), better known by the pseudonym '''John Willie''', was an artist, [[fetish photographer]], cartoonist, specialty shoe designer,<ref>'Pérez Seves, ''JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts'', pp. 102-109.</ref> and the publisher and editor of the first 20 issues of the fetish magazine ''Bizarre'' between 1946 and 1956,<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 329.</ref> featuring his characters [[Sweet Gwendoline]] and Sir Dystic d'Arcy. Though distributed underground, ''Bizarre'' magazine had a far-reaching impact on later fetish-themed publications and experienced a resurgence in popularity, along with fetish model [[Bettie Page]], beginning in the 1970s. 
== Early life ==
John Alexander Scott Coutts was born on 9 December 1902 in [[Straits Settlements]], Singapore, then a British colony.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 4.</ref>  Born into wealth, his family relocated to the United Kingdom the following year."<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 6.</ref> Coutts attended attended Glenalmond, a prestigious boarding school in Scotland,<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 15.</ref> then the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]].<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 20-21.</ref> Commissioned as a [[Second Lieutenant]] into the [[Royal Scots]], Coutts was forced to resign in 1925 when he married a night-club dancer, Eveline Stella Frances Fisher, without the permission of his commanding officer.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 21.</ref> He migrated with his wife to [[Sydney, Australia]] in 1926;<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 22-23.</ref> their marriage, however, ended in divorce in 1930.<ref>[http://investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/Entity.aspx?Path=\Item\352087 Investigatpr.records.nsw.gov.au]</ref>

In 1934, Coutts met Holly Anna Faram, who became both his wife and artistic muse, marking the beginning of his professional artistic career.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 30-36.</ref>
Later that year or in early 1935, while in Sydney, Coutts experienced another significant moment when he discovered a shoe store called MacNaughts. There he encountered both ultra-high heels and [[London Life]] magazine,<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 50-57.</ref> followed by meeting a man known as "Achilles," who operated a local High Heel Club for fetishists.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 50-63.</ref> It was [[London Life]] magazine that provided the inspiration for ''Bizarre'' magazine.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 62-75.</ref>


==Early career==


Coutts initially distributed his photographs through the High Heel Club's mailing list and sold specialty footwear with plans to finance a magazine (which would become ''Bizarre''), though these ventures were interrupted by World War II.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 102-109.</ref>

After the war ended, Coutts relocated to North America while Faram remained in Australia. Though he initially sought to settle in New York, immigration complications required him to stay in Montreal, Canada.<ref name=rund>Rund, ''The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline'', pp. v–viii.</ref> There, in December 1945, he published the inaugural issue of ''Bizarre'' (labeled as "Volume 2"),<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 119-122.</ref> introducing both his pseudonym "John Willie" and the character Sweet Gwendoline in the same issue.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 128-144.</ref> 

Once his immigration issues were resolved, Coutts moved to New York City, where he was introduced to the American fetish underground by [[Charles Guyette]].<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 154-166.</ref> Guyette had a connection with [[Robert Harrison]] and it was likely through Guyette that Coutts was introduced to the magazine publisher. 

Between June 1947 and February 1950, Harrison published Sweet Gwendoline in his magazine, [[Wink]], and other work by "John Willie."<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 186-218.</ref> Later, through Guyette's social cirle, Coutts was introduced to [[Irving Klaw]], who would have a significant impact on his career.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 186-218.</ref>

Coutts (as "John Willie") drew in a style that influenced later artists such as [[Gene Bilbrew]] and [[Eric Stanton]].<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 213-218.</ref>  In fact, Coutts was the inspiration for most of the fetish art produced in the 20th century.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 2.</ref>

''Bizarre'' was published, at irregular intervals, from 1946 to 1956.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 239-328.</ref> Despite the nature of the magazine, Coutts was able to circumvent censorship and orders to cease publication because he was careful to avoid "nudity, homosexuality, overt violence, or obvious depictions of things that might be read as perverse or immoral and that might rankle those parties who were capable of banning, censoring or blocking the magazine's circulation."<ref name="utexas.metapress.com">{{cite web |url=http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/ |title=In Bizarre Fashion: The Double-Voiced Discourse of John Willie's Fetish Fantasia - Journal of the History of Sexuality - Volume 22, Number 1 / January 2013 - University of Texas Press |website=utexas.metapress.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140416190731/http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/ |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The magazine included many photographs, often of Willie's wife, and drawings of costume designs, some based on ideas from readers. There were also many letters from readers, covering topics such as [[high heels]], [[Bondage (BDSM)|bondage]], [[amputee fetishism]], [[sadomasochism]], [[transvestism]], [[corsets]], and [[body modification]].

In 1956, the magazine was sold to his friend R.E.B., who published six more issues.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 329.</ref>

In early 1957, Coutts traveled to Los Angeles, where he would successfully establish himself as a fetish photographer, gaining underground fame.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 332-400.</ref> 

In 1961 he developed a [[brain tumour]] and was forced to end his mail-order business. Destroying his archives and returning home to the British Isles, Coutts went to live with his sister who resided on the island of [[Guernsey]]. While living with his sister, Coutts died in his sleep on the 5th August 1962.<ref>Pérez Seves, JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts, pp. 332-400.</ref>

== Publication elsewhere ==
Willie's work was featured in the Japanese magazine ''[[Kitan Club]]'', one of the few Western artists to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roos |first=Bob |date=1995-11-30 |title=The Development of Modern Japanese Bondage by Masami Akita |url=https://www.ropemarks.com/the-development-of-modern-japanese-bondage-by-masami-akita/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=RopeMarks |language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Willie was portrayed by [[Jared Harris]] in the movie ''[[The Notorious Bettie Page]]'' (2006), which featured a fictional meeting between Willie and Page.

In 2009, Willie was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://leatherhalloffame.com/index.php/inductees.html |title=> Inductees |publisher=Leatherhalloffame.com |access-date=2019-12-31}}</ref>

==Quotations==
"Unless a model is a good actress, and has 'that type' of face, it's difficult for her to look sad and miserable when working for me. My studio is a pretty cheerful place, and quite unlike the atmosphere that surrounds Gwendoline when the Countess gets hold of her."<ref>John Willie, ''The Art of John Willie - Sophisticated Bondage (Book Two)'', p. 1</ref>

"Bizarre. The magazine for pleasant optimists who frown on convention. The magazine of fashions and fantasies fantastic! Innumerable journals deal with ideas for the majority. Must all sheeplike follow in their wake? Bizarre is for those who have the courage of their own convictions. Conservative? — Old fashioned? — Not by any means! Where does a complete circle begin or end? And doesn't fashion move in a circle? Futuristic? Not even that—there is nothing new in fashion, it is only for the application of new materials—new ornaments—a new process of making—coupled with the taste and ability to create the unusual and unorthodox to the trend of the moment."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA316318769&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10434070&p=LitRC&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E83c2504c&aty=open-web-entry |title=In Bizarre fashion: the double-voiced discourse of John Willie's fetish fantasia, Journal of the History of Sexuality (Vol. 22, Issue 1) |last=Pine |first=Julia |date=January 2013 |website=Gale Academic Onefile |publisher=University of Texas at Austin (University of Texas Press) |access-date=July 23, 2024 |quote=The basis of a decent society is a happy home. Marriages break up almost invariably because of sex. What you do, or do not do, is}}</ref><ref>Coutts, ''Bizarre'' no. 3 (1946): 2</ref>

"As for sex, ignorance is abysmal, because for centuries those who could not satisfy themselves, except by denying pleasure to others, have taught generation after generation that "sex is taboo." Thou shalt not think about it or discuss it. In fact, it's a dreadful thing, but it's all right as long as you don't enjoy it. If you have any other ideas on the subject, you are a pervert. The basis of a decent society is a happy home. Marriages break up almost invariably because of sex. What you do, or do not do, is your own business, all that matters is that the enjoyment be mutual, — and the time to discuss these things is before you get hitched up. There is a partner to suit everyone somewhere, but the search will be difficult until we can discuss our likes and dislikes, openly, in good taste, without threat from our own brand of standardized Police State."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA316318769&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10434070&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E8e019fe9&aty=open-web-entry |title=In Bizarre fashion: the double-voiced discourse of John Willie's fetish fantasia, Journal of the History of Sexuality (Vol. 22, Issue 1) |last=Pine |first=Julia |date=January 2013 |website=Gale Academic Onefile |publisher=University of Texas at Austin (University of Texas Press) |access-date=July 23, 2024 |quote=The basis of a decent society is a happy home. Marriages break up almost invariably because of sex. What you do, or do not do, is}}</ref><ref>Coutts, ''Bizarre'' no. 17 (1956): 5</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Studio Biederer]]
* [[Charles Guyette]]
* [[Irving Klaw]]
* [[Eric Stanton]]
* [[Gene Bilbrew]]
* [[Bettie Page]]
* [[Fetish art]]
* [[Fetish artist]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''John Willie: A Bizarre Life'' by Jane Garrett.  Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2024.  {{ISBN|9780764368332}}
* ''JOHN WILLIE: The Story of John Alexander Scott Coutts'' by Richard Pérez Seves. New York: FetHistory, 2024. {{ASIN|B0DLKJFLY8}}
*Irving Klaw's New Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline & Other Uncollected Art: John Willie & Eric Stanton, edited by Richard Pérez Seves. New York: FetHistory, 2025. {{ASIN|B0DWB6NQL7}}
*''Possibilities: The Photographs of John Willie'', edited by J. B. Rund. New York: Bélier Press, 2016. {{ISBN|978-0914646495}}
*''The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline'', edited by J. B. Rund.(second edition, revised and enlarged) New York: Bélier Press, 1999.{{ISBN|0-914646-48-6}}
* ''Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground'' by Richard Pérez Seves. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2018. {{ISBN|978-0764355424}}
* ''Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art [*Expanded Photo Edition*]'' by Richard Pérez Seves. New York: FetHistory, 2018. {{ISBN|978-1973773771}}
*''A John Willie Portfolio'', n. 1 (a cura di Carl McGuire), Van Nuys, CA., London Ent. Ltd., 1987
*''Bizarre: The Complete Reprint of John Willie's Bizarre'' Vols. 1–26; {{ISBN|3-8228-9269-6}} [[Taschen]]. Edited by [[Eric Kroll]].
*''{{lang|fr|Plusieurs possibilités. Photographies de John Willie}}'', Paris, Futuropolis, 1985
*''The Art of John Willie – Sophisticated Bondage (Book One)'' 
**An illustrated biography edited by Stefano Piselli & Riccardo Morrocchi (128 pages)
* ''The Art of John Willie – Sophisticated Bondage (Book Two)''
**An illustrated biography edited by Stefano Piselli & Riccardo Morrocchi (128 pages)
*''The Bound Beauties of Irving Klaw & John Willie'', vol 2, Van Nuys, CA., Harmony Comm., 1977
*''The First John Willie Bondage Photo Book'', Van Nuys, CA., London Ent. Ltd., 1978
*''The Second John Willie Bondage Photo Book'', Van Nuys, CA., London Ent. Ltd., 1978
*''The Works of John Willie'' (a cura di Peter Stevenson), s.l., s.e., s.d.*

==External links==
* {{cite web | url = http://belierpress.com/ | title = Authoritative John Willie publisher, owner of Sweet Gwendoline copyright and Bizarre Inc. | access-date = 29 October 2017 | archive-date = 18 October 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171018214955/http://belierpress.com/ | url-status = dead }}
* {{cite web| url= https://thefetishistas.com/eric-stanton-november-cover| title= Eric Stanton and the History of the Bizarre Underground| publisher= The Fetishistas.| first= Tony| last= Mitchell| date= 2018| access-date= December 4, 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181205103321/https://thefetishistas.com/eric-stanton-november-cover/| archive-date= 5 December 2018| url-status= dead}}
* [http://lambiek.net/artists/w/willie_john.htm Lambiek.net]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040305061836/http://dir.salon.com/health/sex/urge/2000/03/11/john_willie/index.html "The Rembrandt of Pulp"]
* [http://americanfetish.net American Fetish – Scholarly resources for the study of SM and Fetishism in American Culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010718193127/http://www.americanfetish.net/ |date=18 July 2001 }}
* [https://archive.today/20140416190731/http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willie, John}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:BDSM photographers]]
[[Category:British comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Royal Scots officers]]
[[Category:Fetish photographers]]
[[Category:British erotic photographers]]
[[Category:British erotic artists]]
[[Category:Bondage artists]]