Tana Louise, aka the “Cincinnati Sinner” was a stunning burlesque performer and fetish icon of the 1950s, yet her fame is often eclipsed by that of fellow Irving Klaw model, Bettie Page. The Vingage Sleaze blog describes her as “the MAJOR untold story of the 1950s”. She was a columnist and pin-up for the early femdom magazine “Exotique” and later married its owner, Leonard Burtman.

Vintage Sleaze says:

“As far as I know, the story of how they met has not been told or documented…though the best source I have found, by FAR, is the dissertation of Robert Bienvenu, certainly the most interesting and pertinent text produced to date on early fetish material and climate which produced it.”

Depressingly little is known about her life, or if she’s still alive now, but there are articles and lots and lots and lots of photos of her at Retro Junkie and Java’s Bachelor Pad, and Vintage Sleaze recently got hold of a beautiful and very rare picture of Tana Louise mid-dance. Click here to go and have a look.