Louis MeiselThe Art of Pin-up

For those unfamiliar with Taschen LLC, they are one of the best companies in the world in regards to producing art books. Their limited editions are some of the nicest limited editions ever produced, and also some of the most expensive. Just to give you an idea of just how seriously this company takes art books, I will include pictures in this review of their Helmut Newton: Sumo book, which they claim is the largest and most expensive art book produced in the 20th century. It measures 20 x 27.5 inches and weighs in at roughly 66 pounds. The book contains 464 pages and broke all previous records for art books. It even came with a metal stand to actually hold the book with Helmut Newton engraved on the front. The cost of this book? $10,000. Sounds pretty crazy huh. Well, the edition size was 10,000 copies with 250 artist proofs and they sold out relatively quickly. There are a lot of very serious art book collectors in the world with very deep pockets and this is one of the companies out there that caters that those collectors. Thier average limited edition usually runs in the $2500 to $7500 range. And most of them sell extremely well.Of course, if that was all Taschen produced then I would never have purchased a book from them. I consider myself a serious art book collector, but I am not rich so a serious art book purchase for me runs in the $100-$300 range, not $2500-$7500+ range. And the great thing about Taschen is they produce books at all price levels. Some of their art books are as cheap as $30-$35. Personally, my favorite books from Taschen are their XL and XXL series, which basically stand for extra large and extra extra large. Many of their XL books can be purchased in the $50-$100 range and many of their XXL books can be purchased in the $100 to $200 range, tho their XXL series does have books that cost well into the thousands. The problem with Taschen is once you buy them....well, they can be very addicting as they make most other art books look very small and weak by comparison. In the last year I have purchased the following books from Taschen:*Gisele Bundchen (XL)*Peter Lindbergh: A Different Vision on Fashion (XL)*Sebastião Salgado: GENESIS (XL)*Helmut Newton: SUMO (XL) (regular non limited edition version)*Andy Warhol: Polaroids (XL)*75 Years of Marvel Comics. From Golden Age to the Silver Screen (XXL)*The Art of Pin-up (XXL)*75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Myth-making (XL) (Pre-order)I reviewed the Gisele Bundchen (XL) book a couple months back, but I should have written reviews for all of the other ones as well as every one of those books is absolutely brilliant in every regard. As for Taschen's XXL series, I don't think most people who wind up buying one of these books quite know what to expect until they see one in person. They are absolute monsters. Even calling them art books is like a disservice to them since they are so head and shoulders above 99% of the other art books on the market. A Massive tome of beautiful art is a much better representation of what your getting and the Art of Pin-up is a Taschen XXL book. Its just massive and weighs in at roughly 15 pounds. Seeing your first Taschen XXL book is really quite a shock. Even with me sitting here telling you how massive they are, you will still be in shock when you actually see one and hold one in your hands for the first time. Sometimes words are just inadequate at properly describing something and that is definitely the case when describing Tashen's XXL series. Again, massive tome's of beautiful art is a much better representation of what your getting.As for the Art of Pin-Up, it is without question one of my favorite Taschen art books to date and is without question the single nicest book on Pin-up art ever created. The book basically has 10 chapters dedicated to 10 of the best pin-up artists of all time and then they cover an additional 85 artists in following chapters. And the quality of the book is just breathtaking and I don't mean just in regards to the quality of the cover, the quality of the paper, the quality of the binding etc. The pictures are absolutely stunning as many of them were produced from the actual original paintings. So you can see brush strokes and the painting styles of a lot of the artists. For much of the artwork covered in this book, the pictures are the highest quality pictures every created for the artwork or released in book form.I know the price of Taschen XXL books can seen daunting as most people are not used to spending $100-$200 on books, but once you actually realize exactly what your getting....well, not only does the price make total sense, but you will likely think you got a killer deal paying only what you did. The Art of Pin-Up isn't just the single nicest book ever created for Pin-up art, its one of the nicest at books ever created anywhere near this price range. It will become a true centerpiece to your art book collection. Just don't expect this to fit on any book shelves, at least not standing up vertically. Taschen XXL books really need to be stored flat if you want to keep it in perfect condition. I wrap my Taschen XXL books in an archival cloth and store them in an antique steamer trunk I had restored, along with a couple pelican silica gel containers to keep the humidity at proper levels.Bottom line - Taschen XL and XXL book are some of the nicest quality art books being made today. In particular, their XXL line is just a whole different level of art book collecting as most people have never even seen books this big, or this beautiful. The Art of Pin-Up is really a perfect example of the XXL Line. Its just absolutely breathtaking in every possible manner. Personally, I can't possibly give these books, or Taschen in general, a higher recommendation. Taschen is a company whose sole goal is creating beautiful art books. They create them for the serious collectors that can spend thousands to tens of thousands of dollars on individual books and they create them for your basic art book buyer who only spends $30-$35, and they also create them for just about every level of collector in-between. But be forwarded, there is really no turning back once you start down this road as Taschen XL and XXL books will literally redefine what a quality art book really is for most people and I guarantee you most will want to buy more, and very likely will. I openly admit, I am addicted to Taschen's XL and XXL books as I'm a professional photographer and have been a passionate art book collector for well over 12+ years now. The more Taschen books I buy, the more I want to buy. And if you have any interest in pin-up art at all, The Art of Pin-up should be the vert first TAschen XXL book you buy. It truly is the epitome of a beautiful art book and worth every last cent you spend, even if you wind up paying the full MSRP.5 Stars all the way!!!

Great book about the history of pin up art.

The book's title is just a little misleading as there is coverage of movie posters, playing cards, ads, calendars, and magazines such as Playboy, True, College Humor, Cupid's Capers, Wink, Flirt, Whisper, Elegance, Esquire, True Confessions, Eyeful, Tattle Tales, La Paree, Film Fun, Screenland, Movie Humor, a d more. There is even a repro of a cartoon book cover of an issue of Pin-Up Pete.Entire chapters cover key artists such as Peter Driban, Enoch Bolles, "Gil" Elvgren, Alberto Vargas, "Art" Frohm, Earl Moran, George Petty and Zoe Mozert and there is a section of short bios with sample pics of additional artists.As one might expect, there is a fair amount of nudity, two of the artists preferred to have their female artists to pose in the buff, even in the pictures that they made are not nudes, thus there are photos and illustrations of women not wearing anything. Examples are a self portrait of Zoe Mozert and one of Irish McCalla, the latter is better known for playing Sheena, Queen of the Jungle in a syndicated TV series that was based upon a Fiction House cartoon book.

I've pretty much stopped collecting books because they've taken over my house. The books would be stacked all over the house until I could buy a nice new book shelf. I would find a suitable book shelf and fill it up almost immediately with the stacks, and then the cycle would begin all over again. If you are a book lover like I am, you know the routine. But after completing a court-approved 12-Step Program, I have started to wean myself off of book collecting. I now only buy spectacularly special books and I stash them in the closet and drape clothing over them so my wife doesn't discover them until after the statute of limitations has expired.The Taschen XL series is my main source of ongoing addiction. Taschen does two or three new volumes each year. These things are just so amazingly ambitious and beautiful they cannot be ignored. I believe I have them all--except for "Tom of Finland" (I may even buy that one some day; but my wife might be a little concerned when she discovers that one stashed in the closet !!).If you haven't seen one of the Taschen XL's, you are in for a shock: they really are HUGE. You'll almost certainly have to display them horizontally on your bookshelf. But the size gives them a certain majestic gravitas that distinguishes them from other "coffee table"-type books. These edifices represent a commitment by you to the subject. They are more akin to a piece of furniture or a small vehicle than a book. But if the subject matter is of interest to you, or if you merely love spectacular books which are pieces of art in their own right, you will love the Taschen XL's.What title could possibly be of more appeal than pin-up art? It is a pure celebration of the female form--even women will enjoy this tasteful selection. The printing here is color-true spectacular, and there are countless sophisticated flourishes throughout: cloth-covered hardbound (rare, nowadays); built-in book-marker ribbon; thick-paper sectional dividers with tipped-in plates; several fold-out pages; an informative section of lesser-known artists at the end; and a nice carry/storage box. You will not be disappointed. Taschen does typically print a lot of these books, but once they sell out, the price on this will go stratospheric and you will regret not buying it. They may do a re-print, but it will be a smaller version that is not nearly as appealing. You want to get this edition, and you want to get it now.Yes, there will be overlap with your copy of "The Art of Pin-Up" from a few years ago, and with your Gil Elvgren volume, both from Taschen. But this massive volume has enough additional content to justify the purchase. Just think of this as "re-mastered" pin-up art with many additional bonus tracks. Dian Hanson curated this, and she has an exquisite eye. She's pretty much the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on anything she touches in her realm as she keeps it ultra-classy. You'll flip through the pages of this and it will immediately become a cherished family treasure.I'm hoping that our next house can be a little bigger--at least big enough to accommodate some additional huge book shelves to hold these Taschen XL's that they keep coming up with. That way I can take them out of the closet and show them off (except for Tom of Finland !!). These things are gorgeous monstrosities!! Their size is freakish, their weight unmanageable, their value historic!!