The Golden Age Of Pin-Up Art books 1 & 2
(1994 - Glittering Images)

(by Albert Becattini) So the Italians put together an overview of the American fixation on painted pin-up images from the 1920s thru the 1960s, additionally presenting their essay here in English & French and collecting together hundreds of exhibits in the process. I suspect many will look askance at the inclusion of pulp magazines & paperback covers (and the violence found there), but I'm guessing the skewed sexuality of bondage & weapons just seemed too prevalent to ignore. (Why then ignore the bondage & weapons of the 1960s Men's Magazines phenomenon?) Anyway, the inclusion means that a good chunk of the images also show the extensive cover typography of their use. The captioning includes the artist, where a piece was originally utilized & when, and publisher. Both books appear to have now regularly priced-out above $100, but my own recent experience seems to show that a little hunting & some patience can be rewarded with finding copies below $ 50. The first volume provides an introduction and delivers two chapters; Sexy Pulps & Girlie Magazines, and Brown & Bigelow:The Pin-Up Factory - along with eight particular gatherings of the painters of those days. Out of 80 pages, we score 67 as 'art' pages, with 35 being gatherings of multiple images and then another 32 each dominated by some large reproduction. Those 'well-presented' appearances are given to: Rolf Armstrong, Joyce Ballantyne (2), Enoch Bolles, Margaret Brundage*, Peter Driben (3), Gil Elvgren (14)***, Andrew Loomis, Al Moore, Earl Moran (6), Zoë Mozert, and Harry J. Parkhurst.

* - Note that the 'well-presented' piece here by Brundage can additionally be found so in her own collection on The List.

*** - Note that in regards to the 'well-presented' pieces here by Elvgren, some, but not all, can additionally be found so in his own collections on The List.

The second volume scores significantly better in its presentation, having fewer text-heavy pages and eight additional pages on which to show even more art. So, here you find 85 'art' pages (along with front & back covers with their own singular display), 38 multiple-image gatherings and 49 nearly full-page exhibits. In addition to a bibliography, its two chapters are Classy Pin-up:From Esquire To Playboy, and Tiny But Gorgeous:Pin-Up Art On Paperbacks (and another eight specific artist appreciation gatherings). The 'well-presented' this time are: James Avati*, Ward Brackett, Ernest Chiriacka (5), Tom Dunn, Gil Elvgren**, Don Lewis (4), Robert McGinnis (3)**, Al Moore (13), George Petty (2)*, Alberto Vargas (14)***, and Fritz Willis (8).

* - Note that the 'well-presented' pieces here by Avati, and Petty can additionally be found so in their own collections on The List.

** - Note that the 'well-presented' pieces here by Elvgren, and McGinnis, cannot additionally be found so in their own collections on The List.

*** - Note that in regards to the 'well-presented' pieces here by Vargas, most, but not all, can additionally be found so in his own collections on The List.

other Classic Pin-Up Art collections

Classic Pin-Ups - Art Fantastix Präsentiert series