Jeepers Peepers!: A Gallery of American Pin-Up Art (Graphic Art) [Paperback]

Louis K. Meisel (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Graphic Art | Publication Date: June 2006

Careful planning, camaraderie, reliable weapons — these were the WWII GI’s necessities. Pinups provided a different kind of support, mentally transporting American soldiers from the perilous front lines into the accommodating arms of gorgeous, nude, or barely clothed women. Featuring art by such legendary pinup masters as Gil Elvgren, Billy DeVorss, Rolf Armstrong, and Zoe Mozert, this colorful collection commemorates the strange blend of innocence and erotica that characterized the 1940s pinup. Louis K. Meisel has gathered over 300 of the era’s most striking images, arranged into six different themes from Nudes to Swimsuit and Seaside to Indian Maidens, Pirates, and Gypsies. Meisel’s introduction expertly examines the idealized settings and dreamy drawings of a uniquely American icon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: Collectors Press (June 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933112158
• ISBN-13: 978-1933112152
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thanks to Brown & Bigelow, July 17, 2006

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jeepers Peepers!: A Gallery of American Pin-Up Art (Graphic Art) (Paperback)

I think it's only worth buying if you want an inexpensive introduction to the art of the pin-up. There are about two hundred and sixty paintings included but unfortunately they are crammed into a 6.5 inch by 5 page size with many three to a page (sort of large thumbnails) and this is the problem with all of the Collector Press mini books, they are too small to really get the best out of the subject. Other books in series reprint consumer ads in this small size!

Another slight annoyance with this book is that it concentrates on artists from the twenties to the forties with a few from the fifties, so no Al Moore, Bill Medcalf, Freeman Elliot and no giants of the genre, Vargas or Petty! In fact the artists that are included seem to be mostly the ones that Collector Press have already published books about.

Where would pin-up art be today without the foresight of calendar printer Brown & Bigelow to more or less create the concept and print millions and millions of girlie pictures that could even be used to tell the day and date especially in garages and light industrial units across America. Dozens of pictures in the book are from their calendars. Well done B&B!

Much better I think to search out author Louis Meisel's definitive book 'The Great American Pin-Up'. You even have two to choose from: the chunky coffee table version The Great American Pin-Up (Jumbo Series) and the less costly reduced size The Great American Pin-Up (Midi) both are well designed and printed with over nine hundred pictures by every American artist up to the seventies.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A celebratory look at a classic and risqué American art form, January 10, 2007

By 

cookieman108 "cookieman108®" (Inside the jar...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jeepers Peepers!: A Gallery of American Pin-Up Art (Graphic Art) (Paperback)

When someone else mentioned this book was small, they weren't kidding...to give you a frame of reference, the dimensions are slightly less than that of a standard DVD case. I suppose I can't be too critical about this point as Amazon does have the dimensions posted on their site, and I just neglected to notice this when purchasing.

Published by a company called Collectors Press, Jeepers Peepers! A Gallery of American Pin-Up Art is about 175 pages long, and about 160 of those pages feature pin-up art from the 1930s through the 1960s, presenting roughly over 300 tantalizing images divided into seven different categories (the editorial review states six, but I counted seven). The categories included are as follows (in order);

1. Nudes
2. Playful & Sporty
3. Swimsuit & Seaside
4. Exotic
5. Indian maidens, Pirates (yarrgh) & Gypsies
6. Sheer Beauties (lingerie)
7. Glamour

Up front there's a six-page introduction written by Louis K. Meisel, who's apparently `owner and director of one of the largest and oldest contemporary art galleries in the world'. The introduction is very informative as Mr. Meisel certainly seems to know his stuff (unlike me). My favorite quote from this section is as follows;

"There was no problem with political correctness; feminism was decades in the future. The pin-up girl was how girls and women wanted to look and how men and boys wanted them to look."

As far as the images, they're presented cleanly and in a very professional manner. The paper stock is decent and glossy, allowing the images to shine. As I mentioned earlier there's over 300 images crammed into about 160 pages, so sometimes you'll have one, two, or even three prints on a single page. There's also a concerted effort to identify the particular artist, the date, and title of the work (when possible), which is about the only other text in the book beside the aforementioned intro.

A few things I noticed while perusing through the book...

Apparently it wasn't uncommon for alluring women to get their skirts caught on everyday objects, resulting in said garment riding up to reveal that which we're normally not meant to see. One example would be the act of using a ladder to put something (i.e. books) on a shelf. Ladies beware, as not to catch your hem on one of the rungs when you're coming back down (ladders seemed particularly fiendish devices to operate)!

Another interesting phenomena...back in the day, when an attractive woman was walking her dog while her arms burdened with groceries or some such thing, there was the extreme possibility of having the naughty, mischievous pooch tangling its leash about its owners legs, thereby causing the woman's undergarment to fall about her ankles, followed by a gust of wind coming along (perhaps from a passing bus) and popping the poor woman's skirt up just enough to reveal a healthy pair of gams (and perhaps then some).

A variant on this would be a similar woman, arms burdened with whatnot, trying to exit a telephone booth, only to have her skirt get caught in the door! Oh my!

Then, of course, we have the poor woman at the bowling alley...just as she's chucking her ball down the lane her underpants fall down about her ankles, right at the same time her skirt is blown slightly upward by, I suppose, the air pressurized hand dryer located by the ball return. How many pins did she end up knocking down? Who cares?

My favorite section of the book is the Playful & Sporty portion, as it presents various situations as the ones listed above, most with a similar tone, that being of the `oops, look what happened to me!' variety. As if those kinds of things ever happen in real life (maybe they do, but sadly, never in my presence).

I should probably mention this was sort of my introduction into the world of pin-up art, as while I've been aware of its existence, this is the first book I've purchased exclusively devoted to the subject. That being said I'm sure there's better books out there in relation to the material, but in terms of a general and economical introduction I think this worked out well as it covered a number of different themes along with presenting works by a decent number of artists over a healthy period of time. The flipside? The prints presented are often on the `smallish' side, especially those where two or three appear on the same page. All in all the positives outweighed the negatives, and even given that which I know now (with regards to the size), I'd still have bought the book.

Cookieman108

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT PIN-UP ART, July 3, 2006

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jeepers Peepers!: A Gallery of American Pin-Up Art (Graphic Art) (Paperback)

Before magazines like Playboy came along the ideal dream woman for men to enjoy was usually provided by a bevy of talented pin-up artists in magazines and calendars. Pin-up art has enjoyed a tremendous resurgence in popularity over the past decade but "Jeepers Peepers" from Collectors Press presents the men...and women...who got it all started back in the 1930's. The book begins with a short history of pin-up art and introduces us to some of the legends of the field such as Rolf Armstrong, Earl Moran, Alberto Vargas, Zoe Mozert, and perhaps the greatest of all, Gil Elvgren. The book presents 176 pages of their stunning art covering various subjects such as nudes, sports, swimsuit, Indian maidens & pirates, exotic, and glamour.

What you get in these pages is really far more interesting than you get in photographs. What stands out especially is the use of color and shadow that you simply don't get in a mere photograph. There is Edward D' Arcona's magnificent 1930's nude redhead lying on a divan by candlelight that is simply breathtaking. And Zoe Mozert (one of the few female pin-up artists) provides "bubbles" with a gorgeous nude blonde playfully blowing bubbles from a pipe.

Perhaps no pin-up artist was more playful than Art Frahm who had a whole series of pin-up that he did that found his female subjects caught, literally with their panties down...around their ankles, usually with several amused men looking on. Much of the work in the Exotic sections comes from the 20's and 30's when American's fascination with places like Egypt and the Orient were at an all-time high and reflected in works like Armstrong's "The Enchantress" showing a striking Egyptian woman dressed only in sheer silks.

The chapter on Glamour truly shows off its women in all their glory, dressed in beautiful gowns and adorned with fabulous jewels and other accessories, all looking like Hollywood starlets out for the big movie premiere. Billy DeVorss has a magnificent piece of a blonde in a dazzling red gown, taking a moments rest after an exhausting evening.

Jeepers Peepers is really a looking glass into decades long past and into the styles and humor of the day. While there is still pin-up art today, sadly that sense of humor and innocence is long lost but still lives on in this great book.

Reviewed by Tim Janson