He also charged $3.00 for the publication (which sold in Times Square Bookshops) and claimed to forward letters for another two bucks each. Those who were seeking love could place an ad for 25 cents a word. Additionally, Shapiro sold the "La Plume" decorative "Tiger's Eye" pin one might wear so as to recognize other quirksters on the streets of Manhattan "without a word spoken" it claims. $5 bucks for the Tiger Eye. It all adds up to an expensive date which never shows up.
Whether Moe ran any REAL ads or even took the time to forward any replies is unknown. The ruse worked for a while. This is issue 7, and a subscription blank seems to indicate more were on the way.
Most dating sites today charge the women less to join. As you can see, if that were Moe's policy, he would have had a few problems.
An earlier post on La Plume is HERE
La Plume Issue number seven circa (no date, circa 1955) Collection Victor Minx
Browse and Purchase books and ebooks ($5.99) by Jim Linderman HERE at Blurb.
