Nudist Primer Donald Johnson First Edition October 1952 Mervin Mounce Spokane Booklet
 
A genuinely interesting and increasingly elusive piece of mid-century printed Americana: Nudist Primer by Donald Johnson, a first edition, October 1952 booklet published by Mervin Mounce Publishers in Spokane, Washington. The booklet presents itself as a direct-answer guide to the 60 questions most often asked about nudism, placing it squarely within the early American naturist movement and the broader postwar culture of alternative health, social reform, and lifestyle publishing.
What makes this piece stand out is not simply the title. It is the combination of subject, date, format, and survival. Booklet and pamphlet publications were often read, handled, and discarded, so clean first-edition examples are harder to find than bound books. This one also carries strong crossover appeal: collectors of nudist/naturist history, mid-century social publications, unusual ephemera, Americana, and books that document off-mainstream cultural movements all have reason to stop and look.
Dealer and market references show later 1962 eighth-edition copies around $37.50, while a current market example of the same title is also offered publicly, supporting the idea that there is active collector interest in the title. Your example benefits from being the earlier 1952 first edition and from its notably clean, tight condition.
Condition:
Very clean vintage condition. All pages are attached, and the staple binding is secure and tight. Covers show light expected age wear, but overall this is a very attractive surviving copy for a booklet of this type and age.
Why it has appeal:
it is a genuine first edition,
it is niche and unusual,
it is visually strong,
it documents a specific mid-century movement,
and it survives in condition that is better than many ephemeral paper items from the period.
With nearly 5 decades in this industry, we know that unusual paper items often find their audience precisely because they are different. If you have any questions about the item you are viewing, please email us and we will be happy to provide answers.