LINGERIE CATALOGS 1920s~1960s

A selection from the archives of lingerie catalogs from the United States, France and German, circa 1920s to the 1960s. Above and below Priscilla Designs.

Unusual handmade catalog similar to Yva Richard catalogs of the late 1920s and offer for sale "custom made" fetish attire, including corsets, "belts", boots and more.

Beautiful deco styling for this circa 1925 catalog from the 

Parisian department store, Printemps.

 A slight detour from lingerie, this catalog offers items for body massage and features on the back cover, a device to "develop and firm" your breasts.

From Germany circa early 1960s, a small format catalog offering sexy Parisian inspired lingerie aimed at playtime in the boudoir. 

Rosy Dessous was one of the largest mail order catalog companies offering all types of sexy lingerie. Located in Pforzheim, Germany publishing frequent catalogs and updates similar to Frederick's of Hollywood in L.A.

Fetishy rubberwear from Rosy. I'd like to find that one-piece, rubber

 combination foundation piece below!

Circa mid-1960s fetish wear catalog from Bizarre fashions in Los Angeles.

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PARIS / HAMBURG / PARIS Three Books 1950s~1960

PARIS / HAMBURG / PARIS Three Books 1950s~1960

Albert Muller published at least two books in their Ein Bummel durch die Nachtlokade city series: Paris and Hamburg; specifically Paris Oh! La! La! (1958 photos by Daniel Frasnay) and St.Pauli und die Reeperbahn (1960). Easily overlooked pocketbook size books, however both include beautiful photographs printed in very fine, dark toned gravure. The books capture the "nightlife" of both cities: Pigalle, Place Blanche and St.Germain des Pres and the notorious Reeperbahn district in Hamburg known for its adult sex shops, nightclubs, strip joints, tattoo parlors and the "closed" street for  prostitution, Herbertstrasse.  More about the Reeperbahn (literally "rope walk") click here.

The third book The Women of Paris shown below in a hardcover edition published by the Bodley Head in London, 1954, has a few things in common with the two Albert Muller books. It is obviously about Paris, it is beautifully printed in gravure (photographs by Nico Jesse) and it was eventually published in Holland (same title by A.W. Bruna & Zoon, 1958) as a pocketbook, similar in quality to the two books above. 

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 Paris-Hollywood Magazine: Part One 1950s

One of the most important "international" men's magazine of the 1950s and 1960s was Paris-Hollywood, later to be known as Folies de Paris et de Hollywood. An oversized publication from Paris, where each week its readers were treated to a seductive selection of busty, voluptous models, beautifully printed in toned gravure.

Conceptually this was nothing new. However, the French photographers working for the magazine and the photographs imported from the U.K. had a certain European "je ne sais quoi", that appears to be the selection of exceptional models and the weekly "special" features.

In the earliest days of the magazine, the main feature was the American movie stars on the covers + composite layouts featuring them inside: Jane Russell, Betty Grabel, Virginia Mayo, Yvonne De Carlo, et al. When the mandate of the magazine's title wore thin, the movie stars slowly disappeared, replaced by increasing seductive models, wearing less and less! The magazine's editors subsequently created numerous other very popular features over the years including: sequential strip-tease series, 3-D photo layouts (with glasses in each magazine), gate-fold pin-up illustrations by Brenot and the marvelous "pin-up deshabillable" (undressable pin-up) with glassine overlay, the  dressed/undressed pin-up.

French photographers included Roland Carre, Serge Jacques and Andre Belorgey. The U.K. photos were from two of the best: Harrison Marks and Russell Gay from whom many of the photographs of most well endowed, busty babes originated. Although the magazine started in the 1940s, I am concentrating on the 1950s and 1960s and will post it in two parts.

Above: Esther Williams, circa late 1940s

Betty Grabel cover, circa late 1940s.

3-D features and glasses.

Special NUS COULEUR Issue 100 Photographs

Special feature NUITS DE BROADWAY

Special feature MINUIT A PARIS. June Wilkinson cover.

Lili Christine cover

Special feature PIN-UP DESHABILLABLE

Special feature BELLES DE NUIT. Tempest Storm cover.

June Wilkinson above

Special issue NUS D'ETE All Color Photos

Special issue MER et MONTAGNE

Special issue NUS D'HIVER All Color Photos

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