Surprisingly, the original pin-up girls were an invention of the 1860s. Daguerreotypes of busty women were carried with Northern troops as they marched into battle, often purchased at drugstores or other places. They became popular again after World War I with the introduction of color rotogravure printing. One of the first American magazines to take advantage of the colored pin-up concept was Esquire, which first appeared in 1933. Esquire featured pin-ups by Alberto Vargas along with the "spicy" fiction of realism writers. The Vargas pin-ups were much like the burlesque shows of their day and were so well liked that they were copied on planes, tanks, and other military vehicles during World War II.

Another popular war-time pin-up artist was Gil Elvgren. Born in Minnesota, he trained in Minneapolis and Chicago before he was hired by Brown & Bigelow, a St. Paul-based company that specialized in calendars. More than 50 million homes had B&B calendars during the 1940s, from peaceful landscapes and religious subjects to the works of the best pin-up artists in the U.S. The company also provided advertising specialties like ink blotters, used with old-fashioned ink fountain pens so ink would not smear in things like signatures.Thus all the backs of these blotters like the same, with the same felt-like blotting material.

This is a set of 5 unused blotters probably dating from the 1940s or 1950s based on the postal zone and phone numbers. Each blotter has a classic Gil Elvgren pin-up with the name, address, and telephone number of a Philadelphia, PA, chemical company. What better way to get your attention when you needed chemicals, right?

We can’t recognize any of Elvgren’s  models that he used here, but it’s known that he employed Donna Reed (the 1950s “Donna Reed Show”), Barbara Hale (“Perry Mason”), Arlene Dahl (oldest classical Hollywood era actress still living), Lola Albright (the girlfriend of Peter Gunn), and Kim Novak (still alive, worked with Alfred Hitchcock) before they became rich and famous. Check ‘em out. A great addition to any erotica collection, especially pin-up girls. Goes with a 1940s or 1950s décor, especially your own film noire set. Right on the desk, next to that expensive ink fountain pen. Shipped free in the US. Check out our other advertising collectibles at www.ebay.com/str/agitpropshoppe

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