John Henry MacKay (1864-1933)

Forgotten now and to a large degree overlooked in his time, MacKay, nevertheless, was probably one of the greatest theoreticians of homosexuality ever to have existed. A contemporary and friend of such German literary figures as Hauptman and Hesse, both of who admired his poetry and fiction, MacKay also was a leading light of the individualistic anarchistic movement in both America and Europe. But beyond these almost prototypical attributes of a fin de siecle German intellectual, MacKay also wrote a series of novels extolling the virtues of homosexuality under the name Sagitta. He alone saw the deep connection between individual freedom (as in freedom from the crushing hand of morality imposed by the State and society) and the truly heroic nature of homosexuality. While some may disagree with his view point, MacKay thought that homosexuals, by rejecting the norms and laws of society, became, in somewhat of a Nietzschean sense, true supermen. MacKay, however, never explicated this connection between homosexuality and anarchism during his life. By and large, his anarchistic and literary friends were never aware of, or chose to ignore, his homosexual works. It was not until the 1970s during the fight for Gay liberation that MacKay's insights saw the light of day. In particular, the editor of the Fag Rag, Charley Shively, followed closely in Mackay's path with a series of articles extolling homosexuality as the only true act of revolution.

Besides his first popular work, Die Anarchisten, which went through many editions, Mackay's subsequent books fell on deaf ears. Financially ruining himself, he nevertheless continued to privately print his books although sales were almost nonexistent. Upon his death, the stock of unsold works went to a friend and then vanished, particularly the Sagiita books, probably in a cloud of Nazis smoke. Original editions of his political books reside in a few major collections but his Sagitta books, except for a 1985 English translation of the Hustler, are rarely found in any American, Canadian, or English library..

DER FREIDHEITSUCHER (The Freedom Seeker)

Written in the form of semi-autobiographical novel, this work traces the life of a man as he struggles to find meaning in life and solutions to its evils. As with other MacKay works, homosexuality runs as a deep underlying theme throughout, especially in the rejection of traditions such as marriage and encounters with women. MacKay privately printed this work without hard covers (as were most of his books) and considered this his greatest work. During his life, however, he sold only 20 copies in America and probably not a much larger number in Europe.

Berlin-Charlotteburg, 1920. Signed by MacKay. Worn purple paper wraps, missing one-half of spine cover. Slight bumping to upper left corners. Text and signature pages fine, 255 pages. An unsigned copy of this edition is in the Library of Congress rare book collection. $6,250

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DER PUPPENJUNGE die Geschichte einter namenlosen liebe aus der Friedrichstrasse.

The most famous of MacKay's Sagitta books, Der Puppenjunge is the story of boy prostitution in Berlin at the turn of the century. Somewhat along the lines of Emila Zola's trilogy "Lourdes, Rome and Paris" and Tolstoy's "On Moscow", Der Puppenjunge exposes the truly seamy side of late Victorian bourgeois morality. Thomas Riley, in his landmark study of MacKay-Germany's Poet-Anarchist, calls Der Puppenjunge "with its disclosure of life among male prostitutes (one) of the strangest (stories) in modern literature...For MacKay the matter must have been all too familiar, since probably most of it came from what his youngsters, fresh from the streets of Berlin, had told him of their own experiences."

Holland, privately printed, 1926. Number 379 of 2,000 hand numbered copies, of which very, very few were sold during MacKay's lifetime, with the majority probably destroyed after his death. An as issued copy in blue cloth covered boards with silver lettering, 367 pages Fine blue paper dust jacket with slight dust soiling to spine. Original slip case covered in blue paper hand-numbered label with no signs of fading or wear. Reprinted and translated into English in 1985 under the title The Hustler. No OCLC holdings. An extremely scarce and rare item, especially in this condition. $10,000

DER UNSCHULDIGE die Geschichte Einer Wandlung The last of MacKay's Sagitta books published in 1931 under his own name. Of all the "Sagitta' works, this is perhaps the most frankly sexual in both story line and terminology. Berlin-Charlottenburg, MacKay-gesellschraft, 1931. Fine in fine orange paper covered boards, 92 pages. Only 4 OCLC holdings, all of them in rare book collections. (If you don't read German and haven't heard of MacKay, you may think this price is outrageous, but then ignorance is always the most expensive thing one can own). $5,000.