Pinups: George Petty's Ridgid Tools Calendars

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 9 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great pinup art.


George Petty was one of the top "cheesecake" illustrators of the 30s and 40s. He began his career with a series of cartoons featuring beautiful girls and their far from handsome beaus. His work coined the term "Petty Girls" to describe the carefully airbrushed girls with brilliant smiles and sexy poses. He left Esquire, to be replaced by Alberto Vargas who we will be featuring here soon, and became a freelance commercial artist. His girls soon ended up gracing magazine ads and calendars for such unlikely products as Tung-Sol Radio Tubes and the aptly named, Ridgid Tools.

Mike Fontanelli has generously allowed ASIFA-Hollywood to digitize his Rigid Tools. These calendar pages are among the most sought after pinup collectibles, selling for as much as $40 to $50 a sheet. Many thanks to Mike for sharing this with us.
















Here's an extra bonus! The 1947 Esquire Petty Girl calendar...













If you enjoyed this post, see... Bill Wenzel & Stanley Rayon's Girlie Cartoons, Jack O'Brien and Milo Kinn's Girlie Cartoons, Eldon Dedini Part One, Part Two (video interview!) and Part Three, Jack Cole And Other Great 50s Playboy Cartoonists, Jack Cole Valentine, Little Annie Fanny Takes A Trip, Kurtzman & Elder's Little Annie Fanny, More Little Annie Fannie, Biography: Jack Davis, Early Erich Sokol Cartoons, A Passel Of Sokol, and More Sokol, Doug Sneyd and Phil Interlandi, Early Interlandi Playboy Cartoons and Meet Doug Sneyd.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

7.10.08
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