The Pin Up: A Modest History

by Mark Gabor

This illustrated history of pin-ups ranges from their origin up to the early 1980s, and includes special spreads from "Mayfair", "Penthouse" and the Pirelli calendars.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Erotica, Womens, Photography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not think I have ever read a book that was so damn 70s. I hate that ugly ugly decade. This starts off with a foreword from a feminist which sounds great right? It's not. It's embarrassing. Reads like every awful feminist stereotype. So I started reading this book knowing that someone at sometime believed me to be contributing to a culture of rape. Geez thanks. The pictures were good but not enough were in color, and the history was interesting. But the writing was very dated, esp. when it got politicized. Which was often.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed to read more about the history of the pin-up: cheesecake tradition, mediums for pin-ups, artistic pin-ups, girlie magazines, heroines of the screen, heroes of the screen, calendar pin-ups, poster pin-ups and the way beyond the cheesecake tradition. Lots of fine photos and illustrations inside. You get an excellent overview here. Highly recommended!

[Tristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not often you pick up a book about Pin-Ups only to discover that the opening introduction is entitled: "The Packaging of Rape: A Feminist Indictment." It kind of tinges the whole reading experience after that! I do admire the intention of looking at pin-ups through the lens of feminism, but there are so many better ways to approach that paradigm that do not shame the women starring in the photos and the people who collect them. There is quite a collection of photographs that truly the span the whole history of naked lady images (up until the 1970's when this book was published). Unfortunately, the feminist commentator had zero respect for any fat women pin-ups (or the men who loved and collected those images), so even the "feminist" intent falls flat.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author clearly has a type as seen by the commentary alongside the photos and art. It could have been a more interesting examination and historical record if the bias hadn't been so present.