Customer Reviews

The Great American Pin-Up (Jumbo Series)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At last, the history of an art form seen by millions around the world during this century, but little documented. The biographies are concise and the illustrations give a good representation of each artists' work. The German printing is outstanding with excellent clarity and colour rendition. In order to make this a better guide and reference work, I would suggest these improvements for the next edition. First, a title or caption, and date, for each picture. This places a work in context with others and would illustrate the fun associated with pinup art. Secondly, the biographies should be in one alphabetical order. An artist, and examples of his or her work, would be easier to find. Additional books, magazine articles and collections, such as that of Alberto Vargas at the University of Kansas, need to be mentioned. Lastly, inclusion of relevant Internet sites and publishers would provide additional sources of information for collectors, art students and others. Although not perfect from an informational standpoint, this book is a real attraction to the eye and senses and well worth the purchase price.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Great American Pin-Up" because there is finally a book that documents the history of pin-up artwork. The images are brilliant and beautiful and the brief histories of the artist provide a look into their work. The only thing i'd change about this would be to add the titles of the individual peices of art. Other than that, the book was wonderfully written and composed.

This is one of the finest collections of pin-up art from the talented artists that brought these beautiful women to life. These were very risque for their time but they were a true celebration of women. This is the kind of open mindedness and genuine appreciation missing from today's society. Women are wonderful, intelligent, beautiful people and life would be a tragedy without them. There...I said it!

This is an excellent overview of the genre, on an artist-by-artist basis, from the classic era of the mid-twentieth century. All of the artists here are deserving of recognition, though only a handful of them are truly well-known and adequately documented in print elsewhere. All of the many artists here are well-represented; the reproduction is flawless, and the commentary is intelligent and well-researched. The original edition is my point of reference here, so I can't vouch for this one fully, but it appears to have maintained the integrity of the earlier printing and is a very handsome production as well.

An absolutely brilliant book. It bridges the gap between coffee table book and text book. An excellent overview of pinup art with glorious reproductions of the original pinup girls.

I simply want to echo all of the positive reviews of this book. It is a visual feast; highly informative; and a wonderful value. As one reviewer previously noted, the book's only major shortcoming is the lack of picture titles.

By virtue of being so comprehensive, this book provides an excellent starting point for assessing the importance of pinup art in our country's recent history. No matter what you might think about the moral implications of its racier subject matter or its value as "serious" art, you cannot deny the stunning achievement of the artists represented in this volume. Almost without exception, the women depicted in this volume are endearing, sexy and spunky. The author and the publisher are to be commended for bringing this unprecedented volume to print.

the pictures in this book absolutely comes alive. famous pin-up artist's best works are included as well as their bio. I would have liked little more Elvgren and Vargas works but overall picture, it is sexy, gorgeous and I love every page!

Like most Taschen art books, this is a high quality publication, nicely printed and bound. There is a good deal of information and many paintings for the top artists (Elvgren, Petty, etc) and short bios and paintings for dozens more. The paintings are why you'd buy it of course, and the reproductions are excellent. Often the editors did not have originals to work from but that seldom shows. A very few of the larger prints of what must be reproductions are a bit blurry, but not many. However, I personally would have preferred fewer examples so that more of the paintings could be full page. Lots are, but in more cases the reproductions are quarter page and sometimes nine to a page. They are still very good due to the quality reproduction, but lose much of their impact. And impact, after all, is what pin-up art was all about. Still, there's something to be said for quantity too, and this 447-page book has hundreds of fine paintings. Two other quibbles. This hardback has a printed cover, rather than a paper cover, which to me makes it less classy as a display book. I know, I know, it's a pin-up book, but still. Also, like many art books, all the descriptions (the words) are in English, German and French. No complaint, but it's worth knowing in advance that many pages are dedicated to this duplication. That said, if the subject interests you, this is a must have, just like another of the authors' pin-up books for Taschen, Gil Elvgren: All His Glamorous American Pin-Ups (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions).

Taschen's now out-of-print homage to the great artists has been a godsend for sourcing artists and their styles. These lost masterpieces of calendar art have been admired but tossed aside for decades; Leave it to outstanding art book publisher Taschen to assemble a great, great collection in three languages.

A stellar collection of styles, nicely arranged by artist. I'll also recommend Collectors Books' ELVGREN for an in-depth look at the process of creating those timeless images, but for the buck, this is a honey!

I love this huge book. It gave me background on the artists that I wasn't expecting, and discovered new artists that I hadn't seen before. Covers a wide spectrum of styles too. It's my #1 coffee-table book.