/swf/video/player.swf

/swf/video/vimeo.swf

/img/shared/filetto.gif

The life and times of Hugh Hefner

Posted Dec 21, 2009

Hugh Hefner presents an illustrated autobiography with highlights from Playboy's first 25 years, from his cartoon-drawing childhood to his astonishing success with the magazine. His most intimate portrait ever.

Hugh Hefner's Playboy, 6 Volumes

This new release is a limited edition of 1,500 numbered copies signed by Hefner himself. In a Plexiglas case, the book includes a facsimile edition of Playboy #1 from 1953 - featuring the now iconic Marilyn Monroe cover and her first nude shots along with - wait for it, a 7 x 7 cm piece of Hef's famous silk pajamas, worn by the great man himself.

This sumptuous six-volume anthology celebrates the decadence, sophistication and wit of the original men's magazine and its creator. Hugh Hefner's Playboy highlights the extraordinary years from 1953 to 1979, with a selection of each era's spiciest centerfolds and writing by literary icons Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac and Ray Bradbury, as well as some of the most important Playboy Interviews, including Martin Luther King, John Lennon, Richard Nixon, and Roman Polanski.

The book features features 59 centerfolds and all 312 covers from the magazine’s first 25 years.

Hefner's personal archives includes original artwork, cartoons and correspondence, and 700 pages of autobiographical text about his youth, military service, early career as a cartoonist, numerous girlfriends and eventual success with Playboy. A vast selection of personal photos - many previously unseen - include behind-the-scenes shots from the Playboy Mansion, Playboy Clubs, and the Big Bunny jet.

To read more about the six new volumes or to order a copy see www.taschen.com.

Kerry Olsen

Source & Photo Credits: Taschen

Main Image: Hefner and Playboy Bunnies, Chicago Club, 1960

 

TAGS: playboy hugh hefner taschen books celebrity