Swimsuit Sweeties

by Max Allan Collins (Editor)

A dive into pin-ups of the past. Surrounded by sand and surf, these lovely ladies evoke a gentler time of dress and illustration.

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the reproduction of the images is not as good as perhaps it could be, the swimsuit sweeties, mainly from the 1940s and 1950s plus one from 1960 are quite eye=catching. Of course, being vintage they wear nothing at all that would be seen as a swimsuit in the 21st century! Indeed, the lengthy introduction states, 'As the 1920s moved towards the 1930s, women's swimwear took on the recognisable style that has endured for decades. Backless suits appeared in the 1930s, and by late in that decade, geometric windows were occasionally cut out of the centre front for a glimpse of flesh, foreshadowing the next decade's two-piece suit and the bikini to come.'

All the artists are American with Jules Erbit, Billy DeVorss the most represented of the seven artists whose work is presented. Of Erbit, bathing suit beauties are relatively rare as he specialised in more sedate quietly sensual images such as a lovely lady in a gown lounging in a garden against an ocean liner railing. The self-taught DeVorss sometimes has 'a peculiar ability to be awkward and graceful simultaneously, the model seems stiff and yet fluid , as of her confidence is part of a mask'. If one was being ultra critical (which I am not for they all seem very good to me) one could see what the critic means, especially in 'Water Proofed'.

The solitary 1960 image by John Shilling, a pseudonym for Chicago artist Jack Whittrup, shows to a degree how times had begun to change as the model has removed her bathing costume removed but it is discreetly placed hiding everything! However fashions had changed, and would continue to change, there was no doubt that the swimsuit sweeties would remain a permanent fixture on the American art landscape.