Introduction
Pirelli are an Italian company well known for manufacturing tyres. In 1964 Derek Forsyth, a British art director created the first Pirelli calendar. The annual calendar became known as the “Cal”. The production of these were limited to 20,000 calendars per year. They were not available for general sale and only given as corporate gift to celebrities, some Pirelli customers and trades people. The earlier calendars were a good marketing technique to showcase Pirelli’s tyres and featured fully clothed women. However by the 1980’s the marketing direction had shifted to images of glamour models.
Pirelli Calendar – The Erotic Art Years
Around 2010 there was a demand for diversity to be addressed. Pirelli moved away from glamour within the calendars shortly after. The 2022 calendar shows how times have changed. It is about Musicians on the road and features photographs of this nature.
However the iconic calendar had some very interesting erotic art. Let us pause here for a moment before we take a look and allow me to introduce myself. I am the owner of Wildcard Curiosities and a female. Personally I think erotic art is very interesting. The demonstration of techniques in different materials, from stone statues to photography of the human body is impeccable. Lets carry on. In the 1992 Calendar the glamour models were decorated beautifully with body paint. The models were so elegantly posing to show every detail of the female body with the painted designs highlighting their beauty.
The Pirelli 1993 Calendar took a very different take on history. The glamour models were dressed in the style of some influential historical females exposing their breasts. From a personal point of view, I liked this idea. The models depict strength, confidence and grace in a male dominant historical world.
Pirelli always had a theme for each calendar during the glamour years and looking at some of the other calendar’s they produced it is easy to see why they are so collectable. At Wildcard Curiosities we have 3 Pirelli calendars that will soon be for sale. We have a copy of the 1991, 1992 and 1993 editions.
Where to find us
Wildcard Curiosities is based in Freemen’s Common Antique Centre, 8 Counting House Road, Leicester, LE2 7LT.
The centre is open from Tuesday – Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
There is a café and toilets on site
We also have an online shop