When I host a game night of cards and dice, and my friends are gathered around the game table, it NEVER fails that one of them – at some point – will get up and pull the front facing “Bettie Page: The Life of Pin-Up Legend” from my shelf of collectibles.  Her look and appeal is so timeless that she is still an irresistible pull to men.  One of my friends, Ken Chiu, said “This is the perfect woman for me".  And he favors blondes! I know his sentiment has been echoed by a multitude of men since the 1950’s. 

The word icon is overused today.  But Bettie Page is a legitimate and true icon, in so many ways.  Her life story is roller coaster; especially towards the end, battling with mental health issues and no compensation for her thousands of circulated images.  As with so many others of her time, the vultures swept in closer to her death and now her estate earns millions of dollars per year.  But Bettie never financially benefited much from the legendary looks, imagery, mild bondage, fetish photos and pinups that made so much money for other people.  Her face and image were used to even sell OPERA records, such as the one in my collection, shown her.  Was she paid other than for the original photo session?  Probably not.  That sucks. 

When my own personal interest was piqued to find Bettie Page to request an autograph, it just so happened that her coffee-table book had just been published and she had a website selling autographed copies.  I think it was pretty pricey at the time – maybe $100 or more – but I knew it was a rare opportunity and an investment to add to my collection.  Sure enough; signed copies are rare and expensive these days. 

If you don’t know about the ups and downs of Bettie Page’s life, I highly recommend that you dig into the “Bettie Page Reveals All” documentary.  That documentary combined with the book posted here, “The Notorious Bettie Page” movie starring Gretchen Mol, and the book “The Real Bettie Page: The Truth About the Queen of Pinups” will give you a full 360 view of her life.