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Lucille Ball and Marie Wilson were Successful Pinups on TV

Lucille Ball and Marie Wilson were Successful Pinups on TV

This entry is part 28 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

This next article includes plenty of scantily clad pictures of Lucille Ball and Marie Wilson (as Irma, the dumbest blonde on TV). Irma in the “My Friend Irma” show, especially, is mentioned as stretching television’s strict Code with risque outfits and comedic innuendos. Lucille Ball is mentioned as being the pretty woman with brains and wit behind the top ten rated show “I Love Lucy”.

History of Beauty Contests and the Ideal Female Measurements of the 1950s

History of Beauty Contests and the Ideal Female Measurements of the 1950s

This entry is part 4 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Did you know that the first Miss America was 5 foot 1, weighed 108lbs, had a 30 inch bust, 25 inch waist, 32 inch hips and brown hair with blue eyes? In comparison, Evelyn Ay, the 1954 winner, measured: 5’8, 132lbs, 37-24-36. Here is a chart and a picture to demonstrate the perfect female form of the 1950s, as decided by Vincent Trotta, a Miss Universe judge. He claimed that it was proportion, so a woman could be taller or shorter, just proportional.

Pinups on billboards, book covers, and record covers.

Pinups on billboards, book covers, and record covers.

This entry is part 11 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Here’s an interesting history of pinups in advertising! Showing pictures of billboards from the 1800s-1950s, with a focus on pretty girls in beer advertisements.

The next page shows samples of pretty women used to advertise books and, the latest thing, record album covers. Even classical music “moves off the shelves” faster when an attractive woman is pictured on it!

Pretty Girls Sold Tobacco – tobacco advertisements used pinups

Pretty Girls Sold Tobacco – tobacco advertisements used pinups

This entry is part 9 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Here is an interesting history of tobacco advertisements using pretty women and pinups as bait, and to gain broader social acceptance of smoking cigarettes! To explain changes in tobacco advertising, you have to take a historical perspective, which this article explains best. Briefly the history of tobacco ads (according to this 1953 article):

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 27 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…

World War I timeline, soldiers photos, heros, and conclusion.

World War I timeline, soldiers photos, heros, and conclusion.

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Liberty’s Victorious Conflict

Pictures speak louder than words. In these last pages are images of World War I fighter planes in combat, famous air fighters, pictures of recuperating soldiers, descriptions and photos of hospital train cars, and, finally, a timeline of major events in World War I that happened between 1914 and 1917. These last pages also include a copy of Woodrow Wilson’s speech, recommending that America declare war on Germany.

Heavy Crochet Pattern & Mosaic Canvas pattern

Heavy Crochet Pattern & Mosaic Canvas pattern

This entry is part 4 of 14 in the series The Modern Priscilla - July 1913

Here are some patterns for a collar of heavy crochet, and instructions on how to embroider on mosaic canvas. Ads on these pages included Barbour’s Crochet Thread, Post Toasties (cereal), “Sell Hosiery – any man or woman should make $24 a week for 2 hours a day selling hosiery for men, women, and children…”, Typewriters, Embroidery Silk, and more.

Converts: The Love Story of a Primitive Man and a Suffragette by Joan Paul

Converts: The Love Story of a Primitive Man and a Suffragette by Joan Paul

This entry is part 5 of 14 in the series The Modern Priscilla - July 1913

You can see how the issues of womens’ suffrage had made it into the mainstream by 1913! This story about a love triangle between a suffragette, a gold digger, and an eligible bachelor was found in the July 1913 issue of The Modern Priscilla and I’ve included the text (extruded from the image- so excuse typos). I think it’s a fascinating document of womens history, and the social history of voting rights in the USA.

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