Girly Mags

I was helping my mom pack things up, and we came to some old newspapers and magazines. Among the stuff was a Playboy magazine and a Penthouse magazine. The Playboy was the 7th anniversary issue, December 1960, and the Penthouse was the Venessa Williams issue, September 1984.

They were something my step-dad had stored away, probably picked up with some idea they’d be collectibles one day. My step-dad wasn’t one to keep girly magazines around the house, but he did pick up and keep a lot of collectible things. (The image is yellow because of poor lighting in the attic.)

I remember looking at the Venessa Williams pics in the Penthouse back when it was new (and I was a teenager). This mag is wrapped up in clear plastic cling wrap, so I didn’t want to bother unwrapping it and having to rewrap it just to take another look.

The Playboy issue, though, I hadn’t seen before — it’s from before I was born. So I took it out of the zip-lock plastic bag and thumbed through it. It’s surprising to see just how little nudity is in it. There were two topless women, both illustrated, not photographed, and a few photos of a topless Marilyn Monroe. There’s more female skin in Maxim — on the cover. Playboy of the 60s was apparently very tame compared to the reputation.

My mom plans to sell them on ebay or somewhere. Both mags are in excellent shape, so they may sell for something. It’s fun to think about my mom making money by selling smut :-)

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com