Calendar Pin-Up Art, RIDGID TOOLS Early 1950’s

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In the early 50’s famed artist George Petty drew and airbrushed the pin-up girls for Ridgid Tools popular calendars. According to the ASIFA Animation Hollywood Animation website:

George Petty was one of the top “cheesecake” illustrators of the 30s and 40s. He began his career with a series of cartoons featuring beautiful girls and their far from handsome beaus. His work coined the term “Petty Girls” to describe the carefully airbrushed girls with brilliant smiles and sexy poses. He left Esquire, to be replaced by Alberto Vargas who we will be featuring here soon, and became a freelance commercial artist. His girls soon ended up gracing magazine ads and calendars for such unlikely products as Tung-Sol Radio Tubes and the aptly named, Ridgid Tools.

Being a huge fan of nostalgia and retro stuff, I love this calendar art and so will you. An interesting note about the artist… He grew up working in his dad’s photography studio where airbrushing was common in the business, but not at all in illustration – until he applied the medium to drawings like these making Petty the pioneer of the technique for illustrators who followed.

Scroll down and check ‘em out…just gorgeous stuff!

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE!

Tell us who happens to be your favorite RIDGID chick from years back. While March 1953 is incredibly suggestive for it’s day, I think November 1952 would have threaded my pipe with the most precision!

- Zman

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7 Comments For This Post

  1. Overworked Says:

    … looks just like my wife.

  2. MadZell Says:

    Man I love those old pinups!

  3. MadZell Says:

    I would say NOVEMBER 52

  4. redbaronx71 Says:

    july 1953, even though those shoes are not safety toed… gimme vintage cheesecake over Penthouse any day!

  5. Charliereddogs Says:

    I am a big fan of Vargas but these are also great…..love them all but September jumps out for me with that pointed 50’s bra……LOL

  6. tommyzman Says:

    Yes Charlie, she certainly makes a couple of good points.

  7. roadlizard7 Says:

    It’s gotta be September ‘53. I don’t know how she keeps them up that high, but I love the points she makes. Plus, I’ve always had a thing for ponytails.

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  2. Pin-Up Pulse Says:

    [...] artist George Petty drew and airbrushed the pin-up girls for Ridgid Tools popular calendars… PLANETZMAN has a gallery (the overall site seems neanderthal-ish, but the Petty pics are [...]

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