Happy New Year: have a Breezy 2021 courtesy of Enoch Bolles!

 

Louise Brooks was born 114 years ago today

Beginning in 1928 our man Bolles debuted a series of Film Fun covers depicting some of the leading actresses of the silver screen.But several years earlier in Snappy Stories a number of covers featured a Bolles girl that bore a remarkable resemblance to perhaps the most notorious screen presence of the roaring twenties, Louise Brooks. I chose this from the half-dozen or so covers that featured her likeness. It's not in the best shape but it is a great example and a hard to find issue. And there's an additional Bolles connection. The featured  cover story is one of Vina Delmar's earliest publications. Five years later her novel, Bad Girl was adapted for the silver screen. Who did the poster for the marque, none other than Enoch Bolles. 

 

Tomorrow is Halloween: Trick or Treat!

Our Bolles girl had to improvise a costume at the last minute, but that mask can't hide her incandescent smile. 

July 5 is Bikini Day: Bolles has it (un)covered!

This isn't the first time we've celebrated our man Enoch's take on the Bikini, and it would be almost sinful to let this special day fade into the sunset without featuring a Bolles girl getting all the sun she can. This classy cover from a 1936 issue of Breezy Stories and it predates its official debut by exactly a decade. Granted, her Bikini bottom is on the demure side but keep in mind that in the 1930's the mere flash of a belly button would arouse the decency leagues. It was only the below the counter mags that flouted the 'naval blockade'.

And if you need additional evidence paste your peepers on an even earlier cover from 1934 Bolles painted for Tattle Tales. What do you think?  Did he invent the thong too? 

June 18 is Bartender Day!

Our high spirited Bolles girl is showing off more than just her tulle!  She's got some serious moves with her Boston shaker. Bolles often borrowed props from the liquor cabinet, but it wasn't his. Not one for either the sauce or smokes, you have to wonder who his girls got all their bad habits from. 

May 6 is National Golf Day!

It's not just the eagle-eyed fans who appreciate this Bolles birdie teeing up. But while we all agree she certainly makes the cut, that outfit and shoes are going to handicap her from reaching par.  So let's give her kudos though for her ability keep that grip on the ball. I'd call that a real hat trick. And if there was a prize for pinup artists Enoch would win the Masters!

April 15 is also World Art Day, as Enoch Bolles reminds us

We're back again with one of Enoch's sly visual jokes.  This was done in 1938 for Gay Parisienne. The next issue would feature his final cover for this magazine, and one of the last covers he completed before taking a year long break.  As many of you know, Enoch was hospitalized for psychological reasons brought about in part from the stress of overwork. He completed new covers for Film Fun beginning in December of 1939 but during his absence the pulp world had changed; Gay Parisenne had folded, as had Spicy Stories and the rest of the so-called smoosh mags.  There was only Film Fun and it would be brought down two years later by the Post Master General working under the dictates of the Catholic Decency league.  While Bolles' professional career ended with Film Fun, he continued painting for the rest of his years. 

February 7 is Wear Red Day! Bolles has her covered

In a letter Enoch wrote to his daughter and budding artist Lila, he passed along a word of advice he'd gotten decades earlier from a printer; "use any color as long as it is red!"   Surprisingly, he seldom followed it, but when he did the results popped.  You'd be hard pressed to find a nicer example than this cover from 1927. The contrasting color scheme on the car works nicely here. I've often wondered if Bolles ever did any illustrations for automobile manufacturers. 

There's something else very special about this painting, Notice the speed lines?  They were 'invented' by the French artist, .Ernest Montaut, but I think this is the first use of them in what we'd now call pinup art.