Theda Bara. Dorothy Lamour. Betty Grable. Jean Harlow. Vivien Leigh. Greta Garbo. Elizabeth Taylor. Jayne Mansfield. Twiggy. Farrah Fawcett. And, of course, the magnificent Marilyn Monroe.

They came from different eras, from 1910 until the 1960’s. They were beautiful, alluring, and represented the “ultimate woman.” Pin-up girls were posters that represented every man’s dream of the perfect woman! These pin-ups graced the lockers of high school boys, calendars, and the American soldiers of World War II’s bunk rooms. Far from home, the G.I.’s treasured pin-up girl posters; they gave the soldiers something beautiful and sexy to see instead of their all-male comrades, not to mention the misery and graphic violence of war. Army Air Corps pilots, who risked their lives every day, developed “nose art” that was beautifully painted upon the outside cockpit of their fighter, bomber or cargo airlift planes. In addition to stunning depictions of fierce, snarling animals like tigers, eagles and sharks, pin-up girls frequently graced the noses of U.S. aircraft. And in 1941, test pilot Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in a jet he decorated with a gorgeous pin-up of his wife, naming the plane “Glamorous Glynnis.”

In 1947, the Army Air Corps officially became the United States Air Force. Nose art, especially that of vintage pin-up girls, continued to grace the outside cock pits of the best and fastest aircraft in the world. But times change, as does “political correctness.” Thirty years later, in the beginnings of awareness of the sexual harassment and exploitation of women, nose art was officially banned by the USAF, and this pin-up art vanished forever. It’s only seen now in museums depicting the lives of servicemen in ages gone by.

Several sources cite the top three pin-up girls as Betty Grable posing provocatively in a one-piece bathing suit, Marilyn Monroe’s revealing skirt “blow up” from The Seven Year Itch, and Farrah Fawcett as she appeared in TV’s “Charlie’s Angels.” But it doesn’t end with the beautiful and sensual pin-up girls; the past decade has given us pin-up men as well! Handsome heartthrobs Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Fabio adorn the walls of many a teenage girl’s bedroom. Also popular in modern pin-up art are rock singers Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Steven Tyler, and the enormously popular cross-over group, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Pin-up art reached its heyday during World War II, and art experts say that it will never quite be the same again. During this time, every female star in Hollywood had aspirations of becoming a popular pin-up art subject; this was part of their formula to successful movie careers. Today you can find vintage pin-ups on the Internet that are of fine quality and evoke memories of days long gone.

Her curvy figured graced more than one bomber nose in World War II. Pinup girl Aline Osborn sometimes received over 100 letters a day asking for a date from servicemen during the war, when she entertained the troops. She was recognized for her role in the Valentines for Veterans campaign, when State Rep. Greg Simms, presented her with a proclamation from the Indiana House of Representatives honoring her work six decades ago. She began modeling in the 1940s in Chicago. The Navy pinup series was her big break and got her in a lot of magazines. Her nights were spent dancing with soldiers at the Aragon Ballroom and other Chicago hot spots, all under the watchful eye of her protective father. She’s been happily married to her husband James, who she met during the war, for sixty years.

Indy Star

The pinup girl has always been good for the morale of the troops. Whether they were on the nose of the aircraft, or even a picture in a helmet, the pin-up always brought thoughts of home and hearth to cheer our weary soldiers. A modern day pinup girl is doing her part for veterans today. To honor her grandfather, Gina Elise has created a forties themed website with a number of beautiful poses and a calendar to raise funds for veterans. Her site is:
Pinups For Vets

Louis Meulstee has a fascinating article on the Gibson Girl Rescue Radio transmitters from World War II. So what’s pinup have to do with an air/sea rescue radio? First a little background. Charles Gibson created an era’s idea of the perfect woman- the “Gibson Girl” in the late nineteen and early twentieth century. She was known for her hair being piled upon her head, and an “S” shape enhanced with a tight corset. Camille Clifford is probably the best known model of the era. Many models followed, including movie stars- yet they all had those curves in common.

The US manufactured an emergency transmitter type AN/CRT3. It was quickly nicknamed the ‘Gibson Girl’. Based on a German design, it was basically a box with a crank on top to run a generator. Pretty clever idea- you never have to worry about dead batteries. Speaking of clever, the Americans and the British had a few tricks up their sleeves on how to get an antenna up in the air as well. You had your basic box kite- or even rockets to get the kite up there. If that didn’t work, there were balloons included- which when coupled with a kit mixed with seawater lifted the antenna skyward. So back to the transmitter itself. Since you had to hold it between your legs to crank it up, it has an hour glass figure of its own, hence the nickname and it’s association with pinup. You can read the full story about the radio here, and a little on Gibson Girls here.

Sport Truck has a little old fashioned cheesecake with a photo shoot that harkens back to the glory days of pin-up. One of the models, Dayna DeLux has the classic smoldering pin-up look, her website, with some nice photos, is here.

Female bodyguard Anna Loginova died during a carjacking where she was apparently dragged by the vehicle. She was known as Russia’s “Pin-up” bodyguard, and had done some semi-nude modeling before starting her own all female bodyguard business. Apparently this was not her first car jacking, the Daily News tells of her foiling an attempted by smashing the attacker in the nose with an elbow. What a shame.

Citypaperonline has a story on the revival of pin-up. It seems a number of modern women are trading modern lingerie for the smoldering looks of pin-up, and taking pictures not unlike what their grandfathers admired during WWII. More power to them- sexy isn’t always about being completely bare.

German born Michael Mobius is an artist of incredible talent. I have a few giclees of his work, I believe my favorite is his 2001 painting entitled “Pearls”. To see his artwork you can visit his website or take a look at his book: The Art of Michael Mobius He has a dark and haunting style, the hyper-realistic images appear to be staring back at you, about to step off the page and into your living room. He also makes incredible use of lighting and shadows, to create what appears to be more of photo than a fantasy. Truly gifted.