Playboy founder’s death sparks interest in famous issues of the past
The death of Hugh Hefner on Wednesday has boosted online traffic searching out a Victoria-based website during last few days.
Abebooks, which is normally considered an online marketplace for new, used and rare books, has been inundated with searchers looking for copies of Hefner’s magazine, Playboy.
“Abebooks also offers lots of copies of vintage magazines. We are seeing more searches for Playboy than anything else,” said spokesman Richard Davies. “However, people are searching for very specific issues and the most popular one is October 1985 when supermodel Jerry Hall was photographed by Annie Leibovitz.”
The site currently has nine copies of that particular issue ranging in price between $5 and $25.
Hefner, who died at his home at the age of 91, started publishing Playboy in November 1953 and the first issue featured nude photos of Marilyn Monroe. That issue is for sale on Abebooks.
“We have also seen searches for Playboy Marilyn Monroe. This was expected. It’s a very famous issue in magazine history, and copies are scarce and expensive,” said Davies. “There are just two copies of that issue for sale on Abebooks priced at $2,000 US and $4,000 US, respectively.”
Davies said on the whole Playboy, and any other vintage magazines listed for sale on the site, are affordable, ranging from $5 to $50 an issue depending on the condition.
“The first Playboy has always been very collectible. It’s the first and had Marilyn Monroe in it,” he said, noting other old magazines such as Life can fetch a good price if the issue covers a significant historical event such as former U.S. President Richard Nixon’s resignation or the end of the Second World War.
The increased website traffic looking for Playboys didn’t surprise Davies, but he was taken aback by one feature of the searches.
“I was surprised that people were looking for specific issues,” he said. “They are [typing] in Playboy and a month and a date, which means there was a lot of discussion across the Internet about specific issues,” he said. “It may be a specific starlet or playmate or an interview, there were a lot of great ones like Ray Bradbury. Really good stuff.”
Davies noted certain issues of Playboy from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s resonated strongly with people who had either read them at the time, or may have been discovering them for the first time.
Top-10 most searched Playboy issues
1. Playboy October 1985: Jerry Hall photographed by Annie Leibovitz, John De Lorean and Rosanna Arquette interviews 2. Playboy November 1981: Playmate Shannon Tweed Simmons (wife of Gene Simmons of Kiss), Vicki La Motta at 51, interview with Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, David Halberstam on the NBA 3. Playboy January 1979: 25th anniversary issue with bunny logo cover, Playmate Candy Loving, Marlon Brando interview 4. Playboy October 1990: Melissa Evridge cover, Keifer Sutherland interview, profile of boxer Buster Douglas 5. Playboy March 1984: Playmate Donna Speir, Susie Scott cover, profile of playwright Sam Shepard, Betrayal of John Lennon article. 6. Playboy April 1984: Kathy Shower cover, interview with actress Joan Collins. 7. Playboy February 1992: Rachel Williams cover, Playmate Tanya Beyer, interview with actress Jennifer Jason Leigh 8. Playboy May 1996: Cindy Crawford cover, interview with author Ray Bradbury 9. Playboy April 1979: Rita Lee cover, 300th Playmate Amanda 'Missy' Cleveland, feature on 'Sex in Chicago' 10. Playboy January 1988: Art Deco cover featuring bunny logo, Playmate Kimberley Conrad, Arnold Schwarzenegger interview