{"product_id":"pocket-book-tom-of-finland-military-men","title":"Pocket Book Tom of Finland: Military Men","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9818\/5773\/files\/Taschen_Logo_black_f2euvp.png?v=1774562533\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStand at attention with this pocket-sized army of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003efree, proud, masculine fantasy men\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e committed to pleasure and male camaraderie. With multi-panel \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ecomics\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and single-panel \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003edrawings and paintings\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, as well as personal photographs and sketches, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Little Book of Tom: Military Men\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecelebrates the artist’s most iconic vision of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003emasculine perfection\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__title\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTom of Finland's Men in Uniform\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__description--subtitle\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIconic drawings of hypermasculine military men, Tom-style\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__description--subtitle\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__description--content\"\u003eWhen we think\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca data-uw-original-href=\"\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taschen.com\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" class=\"keyword-link\"\u003eTom of Finland\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewe first picture muscular, macho young men in military gear.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTom’s vision of masculine perfection was formed during his service as an officer during World War II\u003c\/strong\u003e. Though he served in the Finnish air force, it was the German troops, stationed in Finland to help the country repel invading Russian forces, which served as inspiration. After all, only the Germans had uniforms created by Hugo Boss, tightly tailored, replete with designer touches, and complimented by high, shiny black leather boots. Tom, at 19, was smitten, an obsession that deepened following his first sexual experiences with German officers in the blackout streets of Helsinki.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTom began putting his military fantasies on paper in 1945 to memorialize his thrilling nighttime encounters when the war ended. At first the Hugo Boss uniforms dominated, but as the years and then decades passed he included American naval uniforms as well, and then his own\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehybridized designs of black leather, jodhpurs, boots, and peaked caps\u003c\/strong\u003e, with military insignia replaced by Tom’s Men patches. As Tom attracted an army of loyal fans, he created, with pencil, pen and gouache,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ean army of free, proud, masculine fantasy men committed to pleasure and male camaraderie\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Little Book of Tom: Military Men\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eexplores Tom’s fascination with militaria through a mixture of multi-panel comics and single-panel drawings and paintings, all in a compact and affordable 192 pages. Historic film stills and posters, personal photos of Tom, sketches, and Tom’s own reference images explore the cultural context and private inspirations behind the ultimate\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca data-uw-original-href=\"\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taschen.com\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" class=\"keyword-link\"\u003eTom of Finland\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehero.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--biographies\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--wrapper\"\u003e\n\u003ch5 class=\"read-more__biography--title\"\u003eThe artist\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--item\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--text\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTouko Laaksonen, the boy who would become\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca data-uw-original-href=\"\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taschen.com\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" class=\"keyword-link\"\u003eTom of Finland\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1920-1991), began drawing cartoons at age five. His favorite subjects were the rough manly men of his native Finland. He found success in the Finnish advertising industry but secretly continued creating his increasingly erotic drawings of hyper-masculine men. In 1957 he submitted some drawings to the American magazine\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhysique Pictorial\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand the “\u003ca data-uw-original-href=\"\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taschen.com\/en\/collection\/tom-of-finland\/\" class=\"keyword-link\"\u003eTom of Finland\u003c\/a\u003e” legend was born. By the late 60s Tom’s “dirty drawings” became the standard for gay art, and Tom’s Men a template for a new gay masculinity. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--wrapper\"\u003e\n\u003ch5 class=\"read-more__biography--title\"\u003eThe editor\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--item\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--text\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca data-uw-original-href=\"\/en\/collection\/dian-hanson\/\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taschen.com\/en\/collection\/dian-hanson\/\" class=\"keyword-link\"\u003eDian Hanson\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eis a senior editor and writer for TASCHEN, with over 50 books to her credit. In addition to\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eARNOLD\u003c\/em\u003e, her recent works include\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Art of Pin-up\u003c\/em\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMasterpieces of Fantasy Art\u003c\/em\u003e, and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Fantastic Worlds of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca data-uw-original-href=\"\/en\/collection\/frank-frazetta\/\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taschen.com\/en\/collection\/frank-frazetta\/\" class=\"keyword-link\"\u003eFrank Frazetta\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca data-uw-original-href=\"\/en\/about-us\/blog\/dian-hanson-and-so-it-begins\/\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taschen.com\/en\/about-us\/blog\/dian-hanson-and-so-it-begins\/\" class=\"keyword-link\"\u003eRead here how it all began\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--book-info\"\u003e\n\u003ch5 class=\"read-more__biography--book-title\"\u003eThe Little Book of Tom. Military Men\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"product-detail-information__book-details\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHardcover, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-testid=\"book-details--dimensions\"\u003e5.5\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ex\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e7.7\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein., \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-testid=\"book-details--weight\"\u003e0.94 lb, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e192 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"read-more__biography--book-edition\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"read-more__biography--book-isbn\"\u003eISBN\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e978-3-8365-8868-3\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"edition-selection__single-edition\"\u003eEdition: English\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Taschen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51798096642349,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9818\/5773\/files\/SHOPIFYTaschenCovers_cb4dc5c8-9e9e-4616-86cd-cd8704733c95.png?v=1773086796","url":"https:\/\/peepasgiftstore.com\/products\/pocket-book-tom-of-finland-military-men","provider":"Peepa's Gift Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}