New exhibit celebrates hideous original ‘Joy of Sex’ illustrations

How many people were turned off sex by those pictures of hairy, humping hippies, that’s what I want to know.

The black-and-white line drawings by Chris Foss were based on photographs he took of a man he knew well: his colleague Charles Raymond, who was responsible for the colour illustrations. They had first tried using paid models, but found them too expensive and inflexible, so Raymond volunteered to pose for the photographs with his wife, Edeltraud. The couple later recalled it as extremely hard work, particularly since the strikes and power cuts of that year meant the lights could go out at any moment.