The little book of Vargas

Alberto Vargas took over Esquire magazine's monthly pin-up post in late 1940.

By 1942, when the U.S. joined the war, he had more than a million ardent enlisted fans who carried his pin-ups in backpacks and duffel bags as reminders of the American girls they'd left behind.

When Esquire was charged with obscenity over a particularly spicy pin-up in 1943 the military stepped in to fight for the Varga Girl, declaring her necessary to maintain the morale of young fighting men.

Today these wartime pin-ups are the most collectible of Vargas's work.

Find them all in this pocket-sized delight.