The original men's skin magazine - founded decades before archrival Penthouse - opens an exhibit of photographs, art and manuscripts this week to arouse interest in an auction planned for December.

"They have a tremendous amount of artwork," said Steven Marascia, a stock analyst covering Playboy Enterprises for Anderson & Strudwick in Richmond, Va. "If you take it and sell it, it generates cash, and that cash goes back into the corporation."

Some items date back as much as 50 years ago, when Hugh Hefner started Playboy in Chicago. Many of the artists, writers and photographers Hefner hired went on to become famous. The collection to be sold includes their work - photographs by Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts, art by LeRoy Neiman, cartoons by Shel Silverstein and Gahan Wilson, and original drafts by Jack Kerouac, Ian Fleming and Vladimir Nabokov.

Own a Vargas Girl

Bidders also can buy originals of the "Little Annie Fanny" cartoon series, as well as the magazine's signature Vargas Girl drawings by pinup artist Alberto Vargas. Photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Bo Derek also will be available.

Playboy officials, who scheduled a press conference for Wednesday to announce the exhibit, declined to comment.

The magazine is billing the auction - to be held at Christie's in Rockefeller Center - as part of its 50th anniversary celebration. CEO Christie Hefner will appear at the press conference, which kicks off the exhibit. The items will be on view until Aug. 8 and then go on a road show. The auction is set for Dec. 17.

But the sale serves as more than a celebration. Like other adult magazines, Playboy has come under pressure from the Internet and lad magazines, such as Maxim and Stuff, that cater to young men. The auction will help Playboy raise money for its other ventures, such as Internet and cable TV broadcasting.

"If they're going to grow their earnings, they have to do that outside the magazine," Marascia said.

The auction is Playboy's second. A sale in California last year brought in $1.3 million, of which $700,000 went to Playboy, sources said. An original watercolor Vargas Girl fetched $32,000, a LeRoy Neiman painting went for $29,125 and a collection of Helmut Newton photographs of Kristine DeBell sold for $21,075.

Vast collection

"The Playboy collection was vast. We had a lot to choose from," said Peter Loughrey of Bonhams & Butterfield Auctioneers, which conducted the sale.

The auction brought in 20% more money than expected, a Bonhams exec said.

Playboy's corporate collection is reported to include 5,000 drawings, paintings, illustrations and other objects of art. Up to 75 pieces will be sold in December's auction, according to a Christie's spokeswoman.

"There have been some fairly important photographers who've worked at Playboy," said Richard Frey, chairman of the Fine Art Division of the International Society of Appraisers.

As for Vargas, he is "coming back with some popularity right now," Frey said. "It's high-end. It's good art."

Originally published on July 20, 2003