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Sexy Tattoos From The Pre-Badass Era

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:37:00 GMT

You've worked long and hard. Plus, we've already begun happy hour in preparation for Bearded Man of the Week Kris Kristofferson tonight and don't really have much writerly energy left. So, instead... we'll take you on a whirlwind tour of the early days of photography, which were also, it seems, the beginning of the tattoo craze that still sweeps America to this day...

Seriously, though, tattoos have been staining the skin since ancient times:

Tattooing has been practiced worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, traditionally wore facial tattoos. Today one can find Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa) and Maori of New Zealand with facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples and among certain tribal groups in the Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world. [Wikipedia]

Earlier today, we came across a blog page with a dozen great tattoo photos from the era of black-and-white photography. Here are a half-dozen of our favorites:

We'll take Pam or the one with Betty Boop inked on her leg... but generally, are a plethora of tattoos distracting? Hot?

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Bettie Page Never Really Aged

Colleen Kane — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:40:00 GMT

The pinup who launched a million bangs passed away last evening at age 85 after suffering a heart attack nine days ago. Her haircut was a little too imitated, but Bettie's sweet sensuality will never be duplicated.

We were curious about how Bettie looked like as a mature woman, and while she didn't like to be photographed in her old age, and she gave her last on-camera interviews in shadow America's Most Wanted- style, we found a fan photo to share.

Here she was at age 80. What was she so hung up about? She looked darling.

While You Were Sleeping: Viva Bettie Page

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Want a Little Nudity With Your Libretto?

Nicole Pasulka — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:43:00 GMT

Performers from the Royal Opera House are losing the costumes for a good cause. This pin up calendar raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support and gives these divas a chance to show off their, ahem, gifts. That's award-winning ballet dancer Sian Murphy...more below:

What an artfully placed violin!

Because what nude pin up calendar would be complete without a pregnant ballet dancer?