Virna Lisi made every photo amazing just by being in them, which is probably why Esquire magazine conceived this gender blurring idea in 1966 as a humorous commentary on her legendary beauty. Even with her face half covered Lisi still looks as good as ever. We doubt even a beard would have made much of a difference. We've included the magazine cover, as you see, and the photo is slightly different (if you can spot how, thumbs up for you). The issue is considered collectible today, and the image has even made it onto t-shirts. We've featured Lisi multiple times, including here, here, here, and here. All the shots are excellent. 

This scan made from a 35-millimeter slide shows Hungary born actress Ava Norring, who had exactly one credited role—that of Beatrice in 1952's The Snows of Kilimajaro, in which she appeared with her more famous namesake Ava Gardner. She later was featured in an eight page Esquire photo essay published in July 1955, but stardom was not to be. We love this shot, underarm razor burn and all. We haven't seen The Snows of Kilimajaro, but we're curious about it. The 1936 Ernest Hemingway work upon which it's loosely based is a short story (touching on standard Hemingway themes we discussed a while back), and it's always interesting to see how filmmakers flesh out something so slight. We'll get to the movie at some point, see both Avas in action, and probably report back. 

Below, the Esquire monthly calendar of 1952 with twelve paintings (plus an inset close-up of Miss January on the cover) by Ernest Chiriacka, one of the true kings of pin-up art.

During our digging around at the Denver Book Fair we found one of the greatest calendars ever printed. This is not that calendar. So just imagine what we have in store. No, this is just a lil’ ole Varga calendar, published by Esquire magazine in 1946, and featuring twelve of Alberto Vargas’ classic pin-up paintings. In 1946 Vargas was doing quite well for himself, having established himself as one of the pre-eminent pin-up artists in the world. That success came to an abrupt halt that same year when Vargas lost a legal dispute with Esquire. It wasn’t until Playboy hired him in 1959 to paint a monthly Vargas Girl for the magazine that he regained a solid financial footing and reclaimed his throne as a top pin-up artist. Vargas died in 1982, but his work has continued to increase in value, with originals routinely auctioning for $10,000 or more. Actually, if you go online you even see sellers asking ten dollars for individual Vargas pages ripped from his old calendars. That strikes us as a bit extreme, but then we’re cheap, so what do we know? See the other Varga calendar we posted here. 

Above, a 1945 Esquire magazine pin-up calendar by Peruvian artist Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez, who back then went only by the moniker Varga. We can’t think of a better way to start the year than with a dozen of his paintings. Well, maybe a hangover cure would be the best way, but this is a close number 2.