Saturday, March 11, 2017

Hitt 'er Miss

Orrie Hitt
Varying publishers & cover art, overall some unearthed gems. Hitt may have used pseudonyms, but here all are credited to Hitt as Hitt, an unsung king of "sleaze." Maybe he was from the Deep South, & one might perceive that to be true given the number of "backwoods" or "swamp" themes present in many of his books, other sources say he was from New York. He wrote several for Beacon, arguably the best of 1950s smut (romance novels, who are we kidding?); may even have written for some of the earlier digest paperbacks from Universal (Uni-Books). Many of his novels seemingly center on the obviously nymphomaniacal life of an insurance salesman, leading the casual collector to believe Hitt worked in the field; for how long before/after his writing career blossomed no one really knows, but perhaps he has relatives out there aware of Orrie though maybe not aware of his tenure as one of the more expansive writers the 60s had given to the world of lurid publishing.

 



Books shown are all available on eBay currently.

Beacon Books

  1. DOLLS AND DUES - BB151, 1957. Reprint? Union boss vice.
  2. TEASER - B158, 1956. Reprint? Waterfront, nightclubs. Photo cover.
  3. ELLIE'S SHACK - B159, 1958. Pond, backwoods. Voyeur cover.
  4. AFFAIRS OF A BEAUTY QUEEN - B174, 1958. Beauty pageants. Photo cover. 
  5. CALL SOUTH 3300: ASK FOR MOLLY! - B176, 1958. Television sales execs, call girls.
  6. TRAPPED - B186, 1954. Reprint. Camera clubs, farms. Photo cover. 
  7. WOMAN HUNT - B197, 1958. Murder/rich gf.
  8. HOT CARGO - B203, 1958. Gun-running Southern states, Hispanics. 
  9. SHEBA - B211, 1959. Saleswoman, used cars. 
  10. NUDIST CAMP - B212, 1957. Reprint. Danish girl in mountains w/ camp. 
  11. THE WIDOW - B222, 1959. Cabins, photo racket, murder. 
Various publishers
  1. SUMMER ROMANCE - Midwood Books 16, 1959. "A Summer Romance" (title pg).   
  2. A DOCTOR AND HIS MISTRESS - Midwood Books 38, 1960. House favorite cover art.
  3. SUBURBAN INTERLUDE - Kozy Books K108, 1960. Divorce, insatiable wife. 
  4. TWISTED LOVERS - Kozy Books K134, 1961. Lesbiana, Stepford.
  5. TRAMP WIFE - Chariot Books CB153, 1960. Victor Olson cover. Insurance sales.
  6. PARTY DOLL - Chariot Books CB167, 1961. Photo cover. Call girls.
  7. LIBBY SINN - Chariot Books CB1617, 1962. Photo cover & several first pages. Oceanfront night clubs/lesbian burlesque dancers, sad death.
  8. THE PASSION HUNTERS - Domino Books 72-712, 1964. Mountain cabin, insatiable women.
  9. MALE LOVER - Gaslight Book GL117, 1964. Lieberman or Rand cover art? Football, same-sex love, NYC. 
  10. WHILE THE CITY SINS - Ember Library Book EL363, 1967. Bonfils cover art. Small-town beauty pageants, backwoods. 
  11. PANDA BEAR PASSION - PEC Giant 1145, 1968. Fun cover art w/ toy panda. Central City insurance agency, sex toys. Likely a more adventurous Hitt title.