Pornographic magazine While the 1940s images focused mostly on legs, by the 1950s, the emphasis shifted to breasts. Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe were two of the most popular pinup models. Marilyn Monroe continued to be a popular model for the men's magazines in the 1950s. The 1950s saw the rise of the first mass-market softcore pornographic magazines: "Modern Man" in 1952 and "Playboy" in 1953. Hugh Hefner's "Playboy" started a new style of the men's glossy magazine (or girlie magazine). Hefner coined the term centrefold, and in the first edition of his "Playboy" used a photograph of a nude Marilyn Monroe,
Playboy calendar rather than for "Playboy". Hefner chose what he deemed the "sexiest" image, a previously unused nude study of Marilyn stretched with an upraised arm on a red velvet background with closed eyes and mouth open. The heavy promotion centered around Marilyn's nudity on the already-famous calendar, together with the teasers in marketing, made the new Playboy magazine a success. The first issue sold out in weeks. Known circulation was 53,991. The cover price was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in mint to near mint condition sold for over $5,000 in 2002. The novel "Fahrenheit 451", by Ray Bradbury,