Some public-spirited person has posted [and soon thereafter removed] all of Playboy’s centerfolds from Norma Jean to Miss October 2002. (I can’t resist a complete series of anything at all interesting.) It’s not without interest to compare the earlier and the later. The pseudo-candid style was established very early on; often a narrative is suggested, though sometimes a puzzling one:
Miss October 1955 takes a skirt from an otherwise masculine wardrobe. On the wall behind her we see Misses April and May, as well as pennants from three colleges.
Miss May 1956 stands in a kitchen, taking her time with breakfast. She holds up to her nose some black object: a cap, an oven-glove, the skin of her ex-lover’s dog? (In the crop here, I fiddled the colors to bring out some detail within the solid black whatsit.) A block of ice, forgotten with its tongs(?), melts near her feet.
Miss June 1960 is at the beach. I mention her only because she has a gadget that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in real life: a battery-powered LP player, the size of a book.
Miss January 1961 wears only a shoe; its mate is not visible. Perhaps, to maintain balance, she plans to rest her bare foot on the scale until the missing shoe appears.
Miss May 1967 is all ready to fly a kite, except that her jeans are unzipped. What is the sequence of events here? Has she been running around in that state, carrying the kite with one hand and holding her pants up with the other? Was she un/dressing when her companion said “Hold this for a minute”?
Miss January 1969 lies on her bed with a kitten and several balls of yarn. Kinky. Sure, you might say she’s about to start another afghan, but how often do you crochet while lying on your belly?
Miss June 1969 is surrounded by a random assortment of props, including a model sailboat, an ice cream cone, and some record-sleeves. What can it all mean?
Miss May 1971 is the only flower-power Playmate. Many of her predecessors show curves but no nipples; Miss May, uniquely, shows a nipple but no curves.
Miss September 1979 was starting to dress for cool weather when she suddenly became engrossed in a book. (I wonder what it’s about.) Or maybe she found, while reading, that her head and arms (only) got cold. You tell me.
Miss March 1999: lounge-singer or DJ? The props conflict.
Miss June 2002 had just settled down to watch Sex and the City (what else?), with popcorn and M&Ms at the ready, when she noticed that the sofa faces the wrong way. She has found a solution to the problem, but it looks far from ideal.