MOUNT WISHMORE

For the first time a rocky relationship sounds like a good thing.

Above is another Technicolor pin-up for your enjoyment—or five pin-ups, to be precise. Is it just us, or do they sort of make you think of Mount Rushmore, plus one? Probably it’s just us. Some background on this: after World War II the traditional pin-up market of stylized color paintings by talented artists such as Varga and Gil Elvgren had declined, which prompted several calendar companies to try to breathe new life into the format by using actual naked women. They opted for Technicolor because it resembled the classic paintings to which buyers were accustomed, but with the added thrill only real flesh-and-blood could provide. This lithograph is entitled Garden of Charm, and indeed these five anonymous curly-haired models make a charming tableau. They were photographed in 1955.

Update: We got an email from a reader, Herman, who informs us:

“This photo is one from the Garden of Charm, a location at Corriganville, a movie site owned by an old western actor by the name of Ray Corrigan. A more popular site such as this was Iverson’s Movie Ranch. Both no longer exist. Many of the old camera clubs used the site for many of their sessions. One of the models, second from the right, is none other than Joanne Arnold, PB Playmate 1954-05.”

Thanks a million, Herman. We would never have gotten the ID on her. Four models to go!

Corriganville, Technicolor pin-up, Ray Corrigan, Joanne Arnold

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

March 15

1937—H.P. Lovecraft Dies

American sci-fi/horror author Howard Phillips Lovecraft dies of intestinal cancer in Providence, Rhode Island at age 46. Lovecraft died nearly destitute, but would become the most influential horror writer ever. His imaginary universe of malign gods and degenerate cults was influenced by his explicitly racist views, but his detailed and procedural style of writing, which usually pitted men of science or academia against indescribable monsters, remains as effective today as it was eighty years ago.

March 15

2011—Illustrator Michel Gourdon Dies

French pulp artist Michel Gourdon, who was the less famous brother of Alain Gourdon, aka Aslan, dies in Coudray, France aged eighty-five. He is known mainly for the covers he painted for the imprint Flueve Noir, but produced nearly 3,500 covers during his career.

March 14

1964—Ruby Found Guilty of Murder

In the U.S. a Dallas jury finds nightclub owner and organized crime fringe-dweller Jack Ruby guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Ruby had shot Oswald with a handgun at Dallas Police Headquarters in full view of multiple witnesses and photographers. Allegations that he committed the crime to prevent Oswald from exposing a conspiracy in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy have never been proven.

March 13

1925—Scopes Monkey Trial Ends

In Tennessee, the case of Scopes vs. the State of Tennessee, involving the prosecution of a school teacher for instructing his students in evolution, ends with a conviction of the teacher and establishment of a new law definitively prohibiting the teaching of evolution. The opposing lawyers in the case, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, both earn lasting fame for their participation in what was a contentious and sensational trial.

March 12

1933—Roosevelt Addresses Nation

Franklin D. Roosevelt uses the medium of radio to address the people of the United States for the first time as President, in a tradition that would become known as his “fireside chats”. These chats were enormously successful from a participation standpoint, with multi-millions tuning in to listen. In total Roosevelt would make thirty broadcasts over the course of eleven years.