cheesecake pinup
Marilyn Monroe – the All American Pinup, and more advertising history

Marilyn Monroe – the All American Pinup, and more advertising history

This entry is part 29 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Enjoy these pinup pictures of Marilyn Monroe, declared “The All American Pinup” by the 1953 issue of Cheesecake – An American Phenomenon. Jane Russell said that “Marilyn is the most female girl I know”, and her only flaws were “a slight thickness behind the knees”.

The next page declares that “American business will spend close to $1,000,000,000 in advertising alone. At least one out of every three advertisements will feature a girl, who is bound to be pretty, shapely, and appealing.

Marilyn Monroe’s appearance on the Jack Benny Show, and Ed Sullivan’s Toastettes

Marilyn Monroe’s appearance on the Jack Benny Show, and Ed Sullivan’s Toastettes

This entry is part 7 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Here’s a scan from CheeseCake – An American Phenomenon. It’s a spread with Ed Sullivan’s Toastettes and film snaps of Marilyn Monroe’s appearance on the Jack Benny show. “It was wonderful,” said MM, “You know, Mr. Benny at 39 has all the charm and poise of an older man.” When Marilyn Monroe agreed to be on the Jack Benny Show, finally television had come of age and could compete with the movies. Cheesecake Pinups on the new medium of television!

Television reshaped the 1950s Pinup Phenomenon

Television reshaped the 1950s Pinup Phenomenon

This entry is part 32 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

“The Bust Line May be Best Line in TV”. This article explores how television was currently reshaping the Pinup phenomenon, remarking on Faye Emerson’s low cut gowns in the late 40s, but then turning again away from excess by raising bustlines and hemlines (referencing the Breen office’s revision in 1951, that apparently included a ban against showing intimate apparel on a moving figure). However, these restrictions had the result of making the female form more enticing, “A whisper echoes more than a shout”.

To Man, Woman is Basically Funny – history of pinups in  humor

To Man, Woman is Basically Funny – history of pinups in humor

This entry is part 6 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

hoopskirts to bathing suits, this Cheesecake Pinup magazine takes a look at the history of sexual innuendo in humor and media.

One of the first cartoons is from the 1860s, showing the wind blowing up a dress to reveal the hoopskirt underneath and (gasp) the sexyness of the woman’s ankels! Then came the peepshows in the Kinetoscopes of the 1890s (as examples are The Bedroom Farce, and a womens’ wrestling). Then, the late 1890s cinema came along, and in the early 1900s, Hollywood and the Keystone comedies and the scantily clad “big names wearing too little” and sensual Femme Fatale Movie Stars of the 1920s…

1958 Hilda Calendar – an Illustrated curvy BBW Cheesecake Pinup

1958 Hilda Calendar – an Illustrated curvy BBW Cheesecake Pinup

I was doing product photography for a friend, and couldn’t help but take a few extra pictures of this pinup calendar from 1958. “Hilda” is a “generously endowed nymph who casts propriety and modesty aside and comfortably romps her way through the year”. Each month has a drawing of Hilda, and advertising for Munger Linen (“‘Coverage where coverage counts’ When Hilda Rents Uniforms she calls Munger Linen”).

1940s Style Pinup

1940s Style Pinup

This entry is part 20 of 23 in the series Carondelet Historical Society Project

This 1940s dress was such fun to photograph! It has red buttons down the front and an abstract polka dot pattern. I put a smart black hat on the model. Like many dresses of the era, it was unlined and meant to be worn over a slip or under=dress. We borrowed a rolling red wooden storage box as the only prop with this simple set. I love the model’s exaggerated “cheesecake pinup” expressions! She did her own makeup and hair, too.

Cheesecake Pinup in a Car Repair Garage

Cheesecake Pinup in a Car Repair Garage

This entry is part 8 of 13 in the series Vintage Car Workshop

I was just in an increasingly humorous mood as this retro photography workshop progressed! I posed model Amilee in a vintage child’s dress from the 1950s, with a wrench, in the car repair garage. She gave the perfect helpless and silly expressions of a gal who wouldn’t know the gas tank from the radiator (I wouldn’t, either).

Pinup models on a South Pacific Set

Pinup models on a South Pacific Set

This entry is part 7 of 13 in the series Vintage Car Workshop

This cute, humorous, cheesecake pinup photography set features pinup model Amy Mooney (Shooby Duwop) posing with a classic red car against a vintage beach backdrop. It looks like she’s on set of a 1950s beach flick! Later, pinup model Amy W. joins in, and they pretend that they’re lost on the way to the real beach (it does not help that they’re in Missouri, reading the map upside down).

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