When World War I broke out, thousands of British and American troops departed for France to fight. They were pleasantly surprised to find that the natives were sexually more open and expressive. Against the dark backdrop of war, American soldiers first experienced the earliest girlie art, mass-produced for a wide audience. Often, these salacious scrawlings were posted to pals back home, or brought back in soldiers’ private collections. In the main, these “French Postcards” showed saucy shots of various mademoiselles, but more shocking, “hardcore” cards depicting various sexual acts have also been discovered. In addition, French magazines such as La Vie Parisienne (1863) and l’Amour (1902) were full of illustrations of ladies in various states of undress.
Although the term “pin-up” had yet to be used, there were already “forces’ favorites” such as the elegant and sophisticated “Gibson Girl” and the more earthy and emancipated “Kirchner Girl.” The former was created by Charles Dana Gibson and made her first appearance in 1887. She was the embodiment of everything pure, beautiful, and “modern” in America, and was adored and admired by men and women alike. The Gibson Girl is generally regarded as the first American pin-up, and paved the way for future generations—the Petty Girl, the Varga Girl, and many others.
Yet while the Gibson Girl was a chaste ideal, the Kirchner Girl—who first appeared in England in The Sketch magazine (1909), as well as La Vie Parisienne—was much more daring and risqué. She actually bared her breasts and was altogether more natural and comfortable with her own nudity. More importantly, she smoked—a major taboo in intimate paintings of women at the time. Unsurprisingly, she became a popular attraction in the trenches, taking the minds of the men off the hell they were experiencing, and perhaps reminding them what they were fighting for. Ironically, the morale-booster’s creator—Raphael Kirchner— did not live to see the end of the war, dying in 1917.
The Connoisseurs from The Pleasures Of Eros by Gerda Marie Frederike Wegener (1917).
Charles Dana Gibson’s Girl engaged in a rare, highly emotive clinch.
An early cover of the erotic French magazine L’Amour, from 1902.
A classic saucy postcard by Raphael Kirchner.
This postcard by Chéri Hérouard, shows an American “Doughboy”soldier with his French mistress.
