There’s men’s magazines and then there’s Playboy magazine!
In 1953, when the now legendary publishing entrepreneur Hugh Hefner found his back against the wall by his employer who wouldn’t give him a meager $5.00 a week raise in his salary, he came up with his own method of making far more than $5 per week, he gave birth to Playboy magazine.
The first Playboy magazine issue, which was undated, focused totally on the iconic Marilyn Monroe and featured only material from her 1949 nude calendar shoot.
Not an instant success, selling only 53,000 issues, Heft believed in his concept of a men’s magazine and carried on regardless and launched the next month’s issue in January 1954, and the rest as they say is history.
As Playboy magazine gained momentum and is now one of the best known enterprises in the world, recognizable by the famous Playboy magazine Bunny logo, it’s a definite accolade to any model, actress or celebrity to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine and so become a Playboy Bunny girl.
Although the first issue was undated, the publication date of the first Playboy magazine was December 1953 and since that day the Playboy magazine has become a collector’s magazine with Playboy back issues fetching prices in excess of $700 and, if the original first Playboy back issue featuring Marilyn Monroe can be tracked down, it can sell for as much as $3-4,000.
The publication became so successful that Hugh expanded his empire to encompass the worldwide market, launching Playboy magazine in countries all over the world including, Spain, Mexico, Slovakia, Japan, Great Britain and Germany.
Playboy Magazine