Elvgren paints a streamlined body—and the spokesmodel is nice too. A couple of days ago we shared two photographic Technicolor pin-ups, so today we thought we’d go traditional with this Gil Elvgren NAPA pin-up with a racing theme. Elvgren worked with NAPA for about fifteen years from the 1960s into the ’70s, which means this could date from any time during that span. Anyone want to take a guess based on the make of the car?
What do you say we scope out some girls? In 1894 a motion picture device called Mutoscope was invented. It worked by flipping a series of cards printed with still photographs. The cards featured slightly different versions of the same scene shot in sequence, and viewing them in rapid succession created a motion picture. Basically, the Mutoscope was an arcade attraction, and the films, viewed by one customer at a time through a peephole, often featured racy material. Much later, during the 1940s, a company called the International Mutoscope Reel Company began publishing what it called mutoscope cards. These were never meant to be used in actual Mutoscopes—instead they were cheaply printed pin-up paintings that people bought as novelties. We came across a set at an auction site recently, and so you see some here. These are collectible today because the artists were luminaries such as Earl Moran, Zoe Mozert, Billy Devorss and Gil Elvgren, and we have examples from those four and others below.
|
|
The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1951—The Rosenbergs Are Convicted of Espionage
Americans Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage as a result of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. While declassified documents seem to confirm Julius Rosenberg's role as a spy, Ethel Rosenberg's involvement is still a matter of dispute. Both Rosenbergs were executed on June 19, 1953. 1910—First Seaplane Takes Flight
Frenchman Henri Fabre, who had studied airplane and propeller designs and had also patented a system of flotation devices, accomplishes the first take-off from water at Martinque, France, in a plane he called Le Canard, or "the duck." 1953—Jim Thorpe Dies
American athlete Jim Thorpe, who was one of the most prolific sportsmen ever and won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football at the collegiate and professional levels, and also played professional baseball and basketball, dies of a heart attack. 1958—Khrushchev Becomes Premier
Nikita Khrushchev becomes premier of the Soviet Union. During his time in power he is responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, and presides over the rise of the early Soviet space program, but his many policy failures lead to him being deposed in October 1964. After his removal he is pensioned off and lives quietly the rest of his life, eventually dying of heart disease in 1971.
|
|
|
It's easy. We have an uploader that makes it a snap. Use it to submit your art, text, header, and subhead. Your post can be funny, serious, or anything in between, as long as it's vintage pulp. You'll get a byline and experience the fleeting pride of free authorship. We'll edit your post for typos, but the rest is up to you. Click here to give us your best shot.
|
|