The Esquire Glamour Girl Calendar of 1948 – Design You Trust — Design Daily Since 2007

The Esquire Glamour Girl Calendar of 1948

0

Esquire magazine, when it debuted in 1933, was a precursor to Playboy in many respects. It featured substantial articles but was primarily purchased for its pin-up content. Unlike photographic nudes, Esquire’s pin-ups consisted of tantalizing glamour girl cartoons, initially created by George Petty. By 1939, these cartoons had evolved into double-page spreads, essentially pioneering the concept of the centerfold.

h/t: vintag.es

1948 Esquire Calendar 1

However, a dispute arose between George Petty and the magazine publishers, leading to his replacement in 1940 by the renowned Alberto Vargas. Vargas remained with Esquire until 1947, when he too found himself in conflict with the magazine’s publishers. This was regrettable since the Esquire Vargas Calendar, introduced in 1941, enjoyed significant success, selling approximately 320,000 copies and coming in various formats. Vargas later joined Playboy in 1957, where his work continued to appear for the next 21 years.

1948 Esquire Calendar 2

After Vargas departed from Esquire, a rotating group of artists took over, and they were responsible for creating the 1948 calendar, which ironically became the most famous of them all. Stylistically, it closely resembled Vargas’ work (although Esquire had cleverly trademarked ‘the Vargas Girl,’ omitting the “S” from his name, resulting in Vargas losing a court case). Artists like Ben-Hur Baz, Joe De Mers, Fritz Willis, and J. Frederick Smith contributed to this calendar.

1948 Esquire Calendar 3

Esquire continued to produce calendars until 1957, at which point they phased them out as a new generation of men’s magazines with more explicit photographic content took over the market.

1948 Esquire Calendar 4
1948 Esquire Calendar 5
1948 Esquire Calendar 6
1948 Esquire Calendar 7
1948 Esquire Calendar 8
1948 Esquire Calendar 9
1948 Esquire Calendar 10
1948 Esquire Calendar 11
1948 Esquire Calendar 12

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Design You Trust Facebook page. You won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

Now You Can Look Like A Void With This $22 Vortex Hoodie

Starblazer: Forgotten Fantasy Fiction In Pictures

“I Knew I Wanted To Look Like That Every Single Day And So I Did” – This Woman Looks Like She Belongs In The 1970s

Why Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve when You Can Wear Your Head on Your Sleeve?

Artist Creates Superheroes With AI To Help Fight Your Real Everyday Problems

Beautiful Kodachrome Photos of Life in New York in the Late 1960s

Extraordinary Photos Of The Joy And Freedom Of Childhood At A Time When It Was Normal To Play Out In The Street

Vintage Pictures of Snow King Chairlifts without Any Safety Bars that Look Very Unsafe, 1950-1970

“Salon du Chocolat” – Chocolate Fashion Show

Couple In Their 80s Celebrate Their 60th Wedding Anniversary With Photos In Original Outfits

Artist Using Photoshop Technique to Manipulate Bizarre Christmas Photos With Her Beloved Dog

Surreal Illustrations For Psychedelic Music By Klusters

Style Up Your Favorite Tech Gadgets with Slick & Protective Skins

Wonderful Vintage Photos Of Female Students At Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts In 1948

Vintage Photos Capture Farewell Scenes At Penn Station In World War II

"Let There Be Light": The Dreamy and Surreal Universe of Joseba Elorza

Before the Advent of Photoshop, People Used to Create Homemade Christmas Cards, 1930s-1960s

“Towards Balance”: Artist Creates Giant Painting in the Swiss Mountains

During The Pandemic, This Artist Decided To Start Making Portraits Of Her Cat, Later Turned Into A Calendar

The Superb Photorealistic Paintings by Christiane Vleugels

Amazing Black-and-White Photos of Amsterdam Taken by Dutch Painter George Hendrik Breitner

Humorous Comic Fat Lady Postcards by Donald McGill From the Early 20th Century

Lovely Children’s Postcards in the 1930s

Meet Maor Zabar, The Hat-Making Artist Who Brings Fantasy to Life

The Snail Family In Medieval Art

Rare Photographs of a Very Young Diego Maradona From the Late 1970s and Early 1980s

2012 Miss Reef Calendar

"Small Town Noir" – Twenty-One ’30s And ’40s Mugshots From New Castle, Pennsylvania

The Story In Pictures Of The Giant Hughes H-4 Hercules Made Entirely Of Wood In 1945-1947

Pachimon: The Amazing Obscure Kaiju Collectible Cards From The 70's