| 1900-20
Risque Black and White Photos & Postcards
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In
the Early 20th century, 'The Golden Age' of the Picture Postcard, publishers &
photographers competed to capture their share of what was an
enormous market and just as today, feminine beauty was a big
seller. Vast numbers of postcards were produced, both artist
drawn and photographic, ranging from the innocent charm of elegant
Edwardian beauty through to some that were frankly pornographic.
European photographers were quick to recognize demand for
photographs of female nudes. Studios, particularly in France and
to a lesser extent in Germany, produced a wide range of nude and
risqué photos which, although they could not be displayed for
sale openly, still found their way into the 'private' collections
of many gentlemen of the era. These are the classic 'Dirty'
or 'Naughty' postcards of the Edwardian era - largely
innocent by today's standards but much less acceptable back then !
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1940's
"Varga Girls" Esquire Calendars by Alberto Varga
$39 each
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From the time Esquire
first introduced America to the Varga Girl, in 1940, the name
Vargas has been synonymous with pin-up and glamour art. In fact,
the word "vargas" has actually been applied to almost
every kind of pin-up subject - a fitting tribute to the most
famous and prolific glamour artist of all time.
Vargas' first calendar jobs were
two pastel glamour pin-ups executed for Joseph C. Hoover and Sons
between 1937 and 1939. In 1939, he was hired by Esquire magazine
on their yearly calendars. Vargas was immediately hired as a
replacement for George Petty, whose contract was to expire in
December 1941. Agreeing to drop the " s" from his last
name in all his work for the magazine, he had his first painting
published in the October 1940 issue. Two months later, Esquire
introduced the first Varga Girl calendar, which sold better than
any other published up to that time.
Over the next five years, Vargas
became known worldwide, and his work, both in the monthly magazine
and the yearly calendar, was eagerly awaited. Although he had a
full schedule of work for Esquire during the war years, he often,
accommodated special requests from soldiers to paint mascot pin-
ups. Esquire also allowed Vargas to do a series of patriotic
pin-ups for William Randolph Hearst's American Weekly magazine,
the only other magazine work permitted him during the Esquire
years.
When Vargas and Esquire went
their separate ways in 1946, the artist immediately embarked upon
a project to publish his own yearly calendar. In the meantime, the
magazine published an Esquire Calendar for 1947 that consisted
completely of unsigned Vargas paintings. By the time Vargas' 1948
calendar was published, Esquire had a court order barring the
artist from selling or distributing any product bearing the name
"Varga", which the magazine had copyrighted. In 1950, a
court ruled that Vargas would have to sign all his subsequent
paintings with his full name.
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