Mid-Century Furniture (and Playmate Delores Wells)

A reader tipped us off to this series of beautiful interior shots from the years when he read Playboy “for the furniture”. Surrounded by the plush blue rug, brick fireplace, and wall unit shelving is Delores Wells, playmate of the month for June 1960.

Please pardon my censorship (thanks to Picnik for the shapes — yes, that’s a Grizzly hanging out on the coffee table), but I thought it would be hasty to assume all my readers are appreciative of nudity, however tasteful. Those who want to enjoy the original, untarnished images can visit the source: Undead Film Critic. See the censored photos above at full size on Flickr. If you plan on doing a full home renovation, then don’t just linger with furniture, you should consider checking out what you’re going to do for your bathroom, a great option would be to add some vanities like the ones from www.uniquevanities.com.

The man behind the camera is Don Bronstein, the first staff photographer for Playboy, but best known for his later work on LP album covers, as I learned here:

Bronstein was the man behind the lens on the pics gracing many of the LP covers (as well as doing the layout art/design on numerous other LPs) on Chess/Checker/ Argo/Cadet Concept records.

His intimate and stylish photographs of Bluesmen and Jazz cats imbue them with a dignity and nobility that these artists are more than worthy of. Out of all his work, it is probably his portraiture of many artists in the Chess label stable he is best known for.

That well known photo of Chuck Berry in a white zoot suit doing the duckwalk is among the more famous of his works. Also very well known is his cover photo for B.B. King’s classic “Live At The Regal” LP.

He has done covers for LPs by artists ranging from Etta James, Howling Wolf, Bo Diddley, Kenny Burrell, Muddy Waters, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Sonny Boy Williamson, Ahmad Jamal, Cannonball Adderley, John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, Little Walter, Buddy Guy and many others up to and including Bill Cosby and even that most vile spawn of satan hizself: Barbara Streisand.

Beyond that and worth mentioning are all the Ohio Players LP covers replete with S&M overtones (Joel Brodsky-Photographer) and all of those Funkadelic cartoon LP covers done by cartoonist Pedro Bell.