According to our sources (the Pulp Intl. girlfriends), both white and red carnations typically symbolize strong affection toward the recipient, so we’re guessing the star of this 1961 Corp. A. Fox. Technicolor lithograph was well loved. The print is entitled Annette, but even with a first name supplied to us we still have no idea who the Kate Uptonesque model is. However, it isn’t hard to imagine that she was famous in her day, so we throw this one to the readership—anyone out there recognize her? 

Update: We're nothing if not relentless around here. She's named Annette Casir and she was from, depending on the source, Denmark, Sweden, or Holland. The photo below shows her in a another pose from the same session.

Above, another Technicolor lithograph, this one from 1950, entitled Designing Miss. The model is unknown to us. As a side note, did you know Elke Sommer was once quoted in the Police Gazette saying she painted while nude? Just imagine. 

Above you see one of the most curious Technicolor lithographs we’ve come across so far. It’s entitled “A Work of Art,” but is the name a reference to the creation on the wall, or the creation sitting atop the model’s head? The copyright on the print is 1952, which would make her ’do the effort of a visionary seer into the future, because hair didn’t look like that in 1952—but it did around 1977 (Farrah example at right).

Way back we documented the transition from normal to crazy hair—the theory we proposed, if we remember correctly, is that years of ’60s acid usage lingered in brain tissue and altered everyone’s aesthetic sensibilities sometime around 1972 (and who’d be affected first—and more—than hairdressers, who are well known to vacuum drugs like dustbusters?).

Sadly, this print ruins our theory—crazy hair predates the psychedelic era. Amazing what you can learn about history from nudie photos, right? We’ve been documenting Technicolor lithographs for a couple of years, and you can see all of them by clicking the keywords just below. Oh, and as always, anyone who can identify the model please e-mail us at the usual place.

Does this model look familiar? She might, if you visit here frequently. She’s the same unidentified star of an undressable Technicolor lithograph we shared around Christmas time. In the above image her pose is almost—but not quite—identical to that in the December image. You can compare them by looking here. The earlier shot was from K.L.M., while the one above was published by J.S.I. Both of them are from the early 1950s. Now look below. Yes, you’re seeing double. Well, almost. The print down there came from Corp. A. Fox in 1956. If you look closely you’ll see that the logo at lower right and title at lower left are different than above. The above shot is titled “Secret,” as in secret admirer, we presume, and the below shot is titled “Remembrance,” as in we hope the florist remembered to remove the thorns. 

The change of logo and title shows how these images spread from company to company. Possibly each publisher bought the rights for a short time, leaving the owner free to peddle the same shots again later. Alternatively, K.L.M. bought the negs for a long period but was absorbed by A. Fox at some point. We wouldn’t doubt it—there were many publishers of these shots, and it seems unlikely they all thrived. Buying out a failing company and acquiring its images would be good business. It gets complicated, though, because as we now know, some of these pin-ups come from negatives owned by Playboy and were printed with the bunny logo, which suggests licensing deals. We’re still doing research on that aspect of the industry, so maybe we’ll know more later. In meantime, anyone recognize the model?

This Technicolor lithograph from Champion Line is entitled “Practice Session.” We don’t know what the unidentified model is practicing, though. The panca pose from Ashtanga yoga? The funky worm? Whatever she’s doing she looks good. No year on this one, but figure around 1960 (actually 1953 or 1954 on the original shot, with the print coming sometime later—see below).

We’ve shown you a couple of Technicolor lithographs with overlays. Before we get off the subject for a while we want to show you one more item. This lithograph featuring Marilyn Monroe isn't technically an overlay because the nightgown is printed on the paper, but it's a smiliar idea. The image is best known as the centerfold of the debut issue of Playboy from December 1953, but it originally hit the market as part of a 1952 calendar, which means it went on sale in late 1951. The only text featured on those original calendars was the title “Golden Dreams,” but the above litho has both a title and Monroe’s name because it was a re-release designed to take advantage of her growing fame. That fame had waned since a favorably received role in 1948’s Ladies of the Chorus, but had been rekindled when she admitted to newspapers in early 1953 that she had posed nude. The Playboy centerfold further turbocharged her ascent, and the famous velvet photo kept appearing over and over again, mainly as calendar shots in 1955, 1956, and 1958, and at least three times with different types of obscuring overlays. In all those images, as well as the one above, Monroe is facing the opposite direction from the photo that appeared in Playboy. However, the Playboy centerfold is reversed from the original calendar shot, so it was Hugh Hefner who flip-flopped her. But from whichever direction you look at her, and in whatever garb she appears, Monroe is still exquisitely Monroe.

Above, another Technicolor pin-up that undresses when you peel back a glassine overlay, which as we mentioned before, was probably pioneered by the French magazine Paris-Hollywood. This particular pin-up from the company KLM featuring an unidentified model is entitled “Dreaming of You,” and the original, unobscured version dates from 1950. The overlay was added for a republication of the shot, probably around 1953 or later. 

This Technicolor lithograph from KLM features something we’ve seen before—a semi-transparent overlay that provides coverage for the model. But all you have to do is lift the glassine top layer et voila!—instant nude. We’re pretty sure these were first done in France, as we showed you here, here, here, and in a couple of other places. Those examples date from 1951 and 1952. The above lithograph is originally from 1951, but it was published without the overlay. We think the nightie was added sometime in the mid-1950s. The model is unidentified.

Edit: Boom! We never quit! Here it is October 2022 and we've just learned that this is Karin Lane, a popular model who posed for photographers such as Irving Klaw. We'll share more from her soon.

Who else could this be but Jayne Mansfield? June Wilkinson? She goes unidentified on this Technicolor lithograph, but there’s no doubt. The image is entitled “Lady in Red” and it dates from early in her career—1955. See another Mansfield Wilkinson lithograph here.