The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs: A Revolution in Palaeontology by Adrian Desmond
Blond & Briggs, 1975.

QUEER DINOSAUR DISCOVERED! Some people may remember the ITV series based on this illustrated science book, now found mainly in charity shops. The queer dinosaur in the story of this book wasn’t a reptile, he was a human being – an eccentric from another time, who loved publishing, art, boyish girls and girlish boys.

Anthony Blond who founded Blond & Briggs in 1960 was born into a wealthy family who didn’t like him much. His company published everything from classics to trash and liked giving new writers their start. He rescued Simon Raven from drink and debauchery by paying him a salary to write and stay away from London. Raven had earlier written the classic The Feathers of Death, about gay obsession in the military, which was republished by Gay Men’s Press in 1998.

Blond’s autobiography, Jew Made in England (2004), also in the archive, tells the story of his hot-blooded life honestly.

This is a summary of a much longer blog which is in preparation on Anthony Blond and his queer publishing career.