Pin-Up Girls: 100 Years Of Erotic Photos From Mark Rotenberg

100 Years Of Pin-Up Girls

Last week we travelled back in time to the Roaring 20s, where pin-up glamor involved bizarre costumes and a flair for drama. This week we're continuing to feed our obsession with retro erotica by tracking the evolution of the glamor shot from 1860 to 1960.

These racy mementos come courtesy of Mark Rotenberg, who has been collecting historically titillating images for over 30 years. Rotenberg explained in an email: "My collection began in earnest when I found a treasure trove of art and erotica in a dumpster in Brooklyn Heights, NY in 1980. An old codger/neighbor had died and the City took over his estate. What they didn't steal, they tossed into a dumpster."

His archives, which currently contain over 95,000 vintage photos, have been featured in Taschen Books, New York's Museum of Sex, and Hollywood's Erotic Museum. When asked about his favorite epoch, Rotenberg responded:

"I guess my favorite era would be the period from 1900-1930. I love the late Victorian influences as they evolved into the Art Nouveau, Pictorialist, and Art Deco. There seems to be a wonderful explosion of a sensuous aesthetic during that time which, importantly, found a wider audience through the use of better equipment and the postal system."

Watch the evolution of erotica in the slideshow below and let us know you thoughts in the comments.

1860s

100 Years Of Pin Up Girls

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