SCHEER MONROE

So I found these awesome leopardskin drapes on sale. What do you think? Too much?

The incomparable Marilyn Monroe, wearing see-though lingerie, stars on the above Technicolor lithograph titled “Vivacious Marilyn.” The image was originally shot by acclaimed Hungarian lensman Laszlo Willinger in 1947. Most sources say 1949, but we can confirm 1947 because we’ve seen another frame from this leopard series used on a 1947 Sunoco calendar. However, the above lithograph wasn’t printed until 1955, when the negative fell into the hands of the good people at A. Scheer Co. and they said, “She’s sheer! We’re Scheer! It’s a match made in heaven!” A. Scheer made another print of one of Willinger’s other famed Monroe images which we’ll show you a bit later. In the meantime, we offer the bonus image of Monroe on the phone for no reason at all. You can see more lithos of Hollywood’s greatest star wearing assorted bits of almost nothing here.

I don't care what kind of bathing suit you paint—just make her look hot.

We’re guessing some underpaid artist was tasked with painting a bikini atop Diane Webber’s nude body, and after the acid kicked in he produced this concept that looks like all her naughty bits are on fire. Luckily it’s just an acetate overlay, and you lift the top layer to get original Webber in her altogether, at right. If it looks familiar that’s because we showed you this exact print in August without the overlay as an A. Scheer pin-up, and as part of a drive-in calendar. So we’ve pretty much milked this image for all it’s worth. We’ve also shown you a few other overlays, for instance here and here, and noted that we think the practice began with the déshabillables of the French magazine Paris-Hollywood. All those other examples are nice, but for pure weirdness this one wins.

This is the second time a warm front like this has passed through.

You may be thinking we already showed you this Diane Webber Technicolor lithograph, but nope. While it is almost identical at first glance, and Webber is even posing for the same company—A. Scheer—it’s a completely different photo shot in a different place at a different time. Don’t believe us? Compare and contrast here.

Diane Webber brings a bit of warmth to winter in Baltimore.

Today’s Technicolor lithograph features a recognizable figure for once—the much adored Diane Webber, a California born model, dancer, and actress who was also known as Marguerite Empey and became one of the most important fixtures of the 1950s and 1960s nudist magazine scene. You can see a few examples of those here. Webber was also a two-time Playboy centerfold under her Empey persona, in May 1955 and February 1956. We’ve mentioned before that the blank spaces at the tops of these Technicolor prints were made for the insertion of advertising, and at right you see how that worked with a calendar for a Baltimore, Maryland establishment called Stanley’s Drive-In. The original image came from the A. Scheer Company, was called Exclusively Yours, and appeared in 1955. The calendar came out in the winter of 1958.

Her motives are transparent.

The last Technicolor lithograph we posted remains unidentified, so here’s another mystery we’re throwing to the readership—who is the above model? The print comes from A. Scheer and was produced around 1950. It’s entitled “Playmate,” but as it pre-dates Playboy it isn’t referring to that magazine. We’re stumped, as we often are with these items. However, a couple have been identified for us by readers, such as this one and this one. Okay, everybody—super identification powers… activate!

2021 update: We figured it out all by ourselves. This is Virginia De Lee, who we first identified at this post containing two more lithos. Follow the link there and you can see another three. Or maybe we’ll link you ourselves. Here you go.

The lesson here is to always remember to bring a beach chair.

These two summery Technicolor lithographs featuring unknown models on uncomfortable perches were made in the mid-1950s. The first is called “Queen of the Surf” and the second is “Beach Beauty” (showcasing the always lovely summer headscarf look), both from the A. Scheer Company.

Edit 2022: The second model is now identified as U.S. actress Vera Miles.

Femme Fatale Image

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1920—League of Nations Holds First Session

The first assembly of the League of Nations, the multi-governmental organization formed as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, is held in Geneva, Switzerland. The League begins to fall apart less than fifteen years later when Germany withdraws. By the onset of World War II it is clear that the League has failed completely.

1959—Clutter Murders Take Place

Four members of the Herbert Clutter Family are murdered at their farm outside Holcomb, Kansas by Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith. The events would be used by author Truman Capote for his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, which is considered a pioneering work of true crime writing. The book is later adapted into a film starring Robert Blake.

1940—Fantasia Premieres

Walt Disney’s animated film Fantasia, which features eight animated segments set to classical music, is first seen by the public in New York City at the Broadway Theatre. Though appreciated by critics, the movie fails to make a profit due to World War II cutting off European revenues. However it remains popular and is re-released several times, including in 1963 when, with the approval of Walt Disney himself, certain racially insulting scenes were removed. Today Fantasia is considered one of Disney’s greatest achievements and an essential experience for movie lovers.

1912—Missing Explorer Robert Scott Found

British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his men are found frozen to death on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, where they had been pinned down and immobilized by bad weather, hunger and fatigue. Scott’s expedition, known as the Terra Nova expedition, had attempted to be the first to reach the South Pole only to be devastated upon finding that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had beaten them there by five weeks. Scott wrote in his diary: “The worst has happened. All the day dreams must go. Great God! This is an awful place.”

1933—Nessie Spotted for First Time

Hugh Gray takes the first known photos of the Loch Ness Monster while walking back from church along the shore of the Loch near the town of Foyers. Only one photo came out, but of all the images of the monster, this one is considered by believers to be the most authentic.

1969—My Lai Massacre Revealed

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the story of the My Lai massacre, which had occurred in Vietnam more than a year-and-a-half earlier but been covered up by military officials. That day, U.S. soldiers killed between 350 and 500 unarmed civilians, including women, the elderly, and infants. The event devastated America’s image internationally and galvanized the U.S. anti-war movement. For Hersh’s efforts he received a Pulitzer Prize.

Robert McGinnis cover art for Basil Heatter’s 1963 novel Virgin Cay.
We've come across cover art by Jean des Vignes exactly once over the years. It was on this Dell edition of Cave Girl by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Untitled cover art from Rotterdam based publisher De Vrije Pers for Spelen op het strand by Johnnie Roberts.
Italian artist Carlo Jacono worked in both comics and paperbacks. He painted this cover for Adam Knight's La ragazza che scappa.

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