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Dian Hanson’s: The History of Men’s Magazines. Vol. 2: From Post-War to 1959

70Edition: Multilingual (English, French, German)Availability: In Stock
After WWII the U.S. assumed men’s magazine dominance. This volume documents that rise from 1946 through 1959, in over 650 covers and interiors, including burlesque magazines, a rare title for Black men, the first fetish magazines, the launch of Playboy, and some timid English and Latin American offerings.
Hardcover8.4 x 10.9 in.4.63 lb460 pages
“…approaches men’s magazines with a historical lens and also tracks the wider societal changes alongside their evolution.”
creativereview.co.uk

“[An] impressive six-volume collection…”

monocle.com
Dian Hanson’s: The History of Men’s Magazines. Vol. 2: From Post-War to 1959

Dian Hanson’s: The History of Men’s Magazines. Vol. 2: From Post-War to 1959

70

Sexy Magazines Win the War

WWII pinups shaped men's magazines and led to Playboy 

WWII was devastating to Europe, but the U.S. emerged with a robust economy. People who were encouraged to save every cent for the war effort now spent freely, including on magazines. The U.S. quickly came to dominate the men’s magazine market.

Playboy, launched in December 1953, made a huge impact on publishing, but it was not the only American men’s magazine in the 1950s. The quirky burlesque titles Beauty Parade, Wink, Titter and Eyeful, featuring Bettie Page and covers by artist Peter Driben, inspired a spate of competing titles. Much loved WWII pin-ups, often of aspiring starlets, led to “news and nudes” titles with cover girls Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, and to more lurid titles like Shock, blending burlesque and celebrity scandal. In New York City a clandestine fetishist magazine industry, bankrolled by the mob, emerged, first with John Willie’s Bizarre, then Lenny Burtman’s female dominant Exotique.

Argentina, with a strong European influence, produced sophisticated Vea (Watch), while England, suffering paper shortages, produced little magazines with big buxom models, charting a path it would maintain through the 1960s.

Then came Playboy. Eschewing the strippers, Hugh Hefner offered up “the girl next door,” eroticized innocence, and espoused consumerism as the route to sexual success. This combination made Playboy the most successful men’s magazine in history, shaping international publishing for decades.

Volume 2 in this series contains over 650 magazine covers and photos from the U.S., Mexico, Argentina and England, plus informative essays.
The editor

Dian Hanson is a senior editor and writer for TASCHEN, with over 50 books to her credit. In addition to ARNOLD, her recent works include The Art of Pin-up, Masterpieces of Fantasy Art, and The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta.
Read here how it all began.

Dian Hanson’s: The History of Men’s Magazines. Vol. 2: From Post-War to 1959
Hardcover21.3 x 27.7 cm2.10 kg460 pages

ISBN 978-3-8365-9235-2

Edition: Multilingual (English, French, German)
Download product images here

“Men’s magazine” is a euphemism for “sex magazine,” and this series traces its origins from 1900 to 1979, from the first coy French illustrations to the adult emporiums of Amsterdam, in six volumes, 2,760 pages, and nearly 4,000 full color covers and interior images. Dian Hanson produced men’s magazines from 1976 to 2001, including Puritan, JUGGS, and Leg Show, before becoming TASCHEN’s Sexy Book editor.

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