This collection, culled from numerous sources of variable quality, demonstrates that Bate’s variety and imagination was almost inexhaustible. Moving from black and white to colour in the 1970s, he illustrated stories for many ‘underground’ gay magazines including Physique Pictorial, Blueboy, Honcho, Mandate, Skin and Drummer.

One notable publication featuring Bate's work was In Touch, a gay magazine to which he contributed an article about the 1937 magazine Bachelor, which he recalled as his first exposure to gay media; the article was later reprinted in The Advocate in 1983.

His medium was almost always graphite pencil, giving his drawings a soft, intimate quality. The pencil work was detailed but not overly polished, lending a raw, immediate feel that emphasised the human touch, both in the drawing and in the subject matter. Narrative-driven, soft-focus illustrations of working-class American men, infused with warmth, realism, and a subversive celebration of same-sex intimacy within traditional masculine contexts, helped gay men feel comfortable with their sexual choices, provided inspiration for their interactions, and a chance to indulge their fantasies.