Playgirl Magazine Vol. 1 No. 6 (1957)

Softcover 4to, 63pp. 1-inch chip at the bottom of the spine, else age toned but Very Good. Contents largely composed by Hale, sometimes under anagrams, including "America Discovers Jazz," which muses on Louis Armstrong and an article surveying brassiere patents issued in the United States. Many photos of actress Jody Lawrence, Playgirl of the Month, special spread "Tahiti's Girls." Hale also published "Hollywood Confidential" and, in his own words, "other magazines of inspirational and intellectual design." Hale was successfully sued by Hugh Hefner/Playboy, founded in 1953, for copyright infringement in November, 1957. From the plaintiff's court filing: "Play Girl" came into being as a magazine publication in 1955. Defendant's publication, commencing with a circulation of approximately 30,000, has remained practically static during the two years of its circulation. Published as a quarterly and selling for $1.00 as opposed to "Play Boy's" monthly sale at 50c per copy, "Play Girl" has no literary material to be found on its pages. It emphasizes pictures of burlesque actresses and models in various nude or near nude poses. The printed material to be found on the pages of "Play Girl" is almost all prepared by defendant under various pseudonyms. The magazine makes no pretense of being a literary publication." This may have been the last issue of the magazine, not to be confused (or any way associated) with the women's-variant "Playgirl" magazine founded in the 1970s.