Peep-Machine Pin-Ups: 1940s-1950s Mutoscope Art (Schiffer Book with Values) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Machines called Mutoscopes offered quick shows for a penny from 1895 until as late as the 1970s, flipping cards to create the impression of a "moving picture." Associated with amusement piers and parks, and men's restrooms, these machines were notorious as proprietors of cheap peeps. During the 1940s, the International Mutoscope Reel Company began to manufacture coin-operated vending machines that served up 5-1/4" x 3-1/4"cards for collectors, usually of "pin-up" material. These cards are widely collected today, and a wonderful source of inspiring low-brow artwork. This comprehensive collection of more than 250 images includes work by noted artists Zoe Mozert, Earl Moran, and Gil Elvgren, among many other signed and unsigned, talented portrayors of the female form. A value guide will assist collectors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing; illustrated edition edition (November 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764325116
• ISBN-13: 978-0764325113
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #889,336 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice but inadequate, March 26, 2007

By	Teabag (Vermont) - See all my reviews

If you are looking to view the authors' collection of 230 Mutoscope Pin-Up cards, nicely reproduced, this is the book for you. If you want more information, look elsewhere.
There is a cursory history of Mutoscope cards and brief biographies of 4 artists represented, but that's it. No information on how many were made (386); over what period of time (1940-1954); how they were grouped (10 sets of 32 or 64 cards with 2 extras). It would have been nice to have a complete checklist and information on how to identify the various sets. Instead of being ordered by year or set, the authors put them alphabetically according to the cute quotes on the cards: from "A Clothes Call" to "You're The Top". There are Internet references, but you could have done that anyway, right? I am waiting for the complete reference guide. Anyone step up?

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor value pin-ups, February 3, 2008

By	Robin Benson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was always curious about Mutoscope cards and having bought the book I'm still curious. It seems cards were dispensed from coin-operated machines for mere pennies but the book doesn't picture the machines or tell me how they were dispensed or, as another reviewer has mentioned, how many different sets there were.

The 128 pages feature the pin-up cards printed in 175dpi and presented in a very boring layout, not even a thin grey drop shadow to give them a lift on the page. On the cover the thumbnail cards do have a depth shadow added though. The first few pages have some very skimpy text about the cards and the four artists who painted most of the artwork throughout the book.

I thought this was a rather expensive publication but if you like pin-up art there is a better book available. For a third of the price to can get Taschen's The Great American Pin-Up (Midi) which has hundreds of pictures and although I haven't checked I bet all these Mutoscope pin-ups are included (there is also a large coffee-table version of this wonderful book).