Early erotic photography

Erotic photographs are normally intended for commercial use, including mass-produced calendars, pinups and for men's magazines, such as Penthouse and Playboy, but sometimes the photographs are intended to be seen only by a subject's partner. The subjects of erotic photographs may be professional models, celebrities or amateurs. Very few well-known entertainers posed nude for photographs. The first entertainer to pose nude for photographs was the stage actress Adah Isaacs Menken (1835–1868).[1] On the other hand, a number of well-known film stars have posed for pinup girl photographs and been promoted in photography and other media as sex symbols. Traditionally, the subjects of erotic photographs have been female, but since the 1970s erotic images of men have also been published.