Product Description

"Girls, Gags & Giggles" - this was publisher Robert Harrison's recipe for dishing up the American pin-up to the U.S. male. In the 1950s, his girlie magazines sold by the millions, before becoming icons of pulp and trash culture.These skilfully illustrated girls with their curvaceous forms and inviting lingerie soon overtook America's national dessert, in terms of popularity, and even developed considerable potential as a cultural export during the 1940s. 'Never show everything,' was always the motto. Smiling prettily at the camera, the models exuded just the right amount of sex appeal without seeming too sophisticated or artful. They were the 'girls next door' whose wholesome attraction soon made one forget the magazines' deliberately trashy presentation. Their rosy complexions and innocent allures still titillate even in an age when far more graphic material is the norm. This is for everyone who enjoys pin-ups, push-ups and pulp style!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16119 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: French, German, English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Customer Reviews

Not nearly enough
This book originally was planned for 1956 but somehow the gallies [no pun?] wound up buried beneath Ed Norton's collection of books on Astrology. I guess he became friendly with the original publisher who had an office near his worksite on Madison Avenue.
Just a little fantasy...on a fanatsy. The "fantasy" today is that femininity cannot square with workplace and social assertiveness. We're on the androgyny tip today...not that there's anything wrong with that.
Just like today, "sex sells" in these classic covers from "Beauty Parade", "Mink", et. al magz. But back then, it was actually "sexism sells". The models looked in to the camera eye with a touch of....forgive me......"vulnerability"?
Va-va-va-voom!!!

Another great collection of colorful pinups from Taschen
There are very few books on the subject of men's magazines that are perfect. Yes, the printer over-trimmed this title--it has its flaws. However, I have yet to find a thicker, more colorful collection showing the covers of vintage men's mags. Every page is an eye-catcher, and I'm happy to have this book on my shelf.

better than nothing
This book is flawed but if you want the covers from Robert Harrison's magazines by famous pin-up artists this is good. One problem is the cropped covers that prevent the reader from seeing the whole effect. The images also cover the full page so there is no white margin to absorb finger marks and other edge damage from use without harming the image. Taschen should have focused on the pin-up artists rather than trying to make a book cover all of Robert Harrison's magazines. By changing focus to the artists they could have dumped the black and white photos and shrunk the book. They then could have published full covers in an oversized book.

Taschen has published the same material in two other books but they are also flawed. First, is the original volume "Girlie Magazines." With 60 fewer pages it is a significantly thicker volume because the pages are thicker. While "1000 Pin-Ups is a good value, in my opinion "Girlie Magazines" remains the better book, with better paper quality. Second, is a small selection of covers from "Girlie Magazines" titled "Pin-Ups" in the Icons Series by Giles Neret. I would just buy a good used version of "Girlie Magazines" for a little more and get 3-4X the illustrations.