Playmates of History

Nile Queen

our december playmate tops egypt's social pyramid

Romantics may ruminate on what the silent Sphinx thinks, but we prefer to fathom the regal beauty of an Egyptian lass named Cleopatra. We first barged into Cleo while boating down the Nile and were so smitten with her serpentine sensuousness that we instantly asked her to become the December member of our Playmate gallery. As the fetching photo above indicates, she reclined to accept. Constructed better than any pyramid, Cleo cleaves to 37-23-35 specifications and has brains to boot. Although born to wealth, she earns her own way as a hard-working government gal, greeting visiting military brass. Her preference in men, she admits, runs strongly to fiery Latin lovers. But it's hard to get close to Cleo unless you share an interest in her far-out hobby -- herpetology. Having raised a generation of vipers, she cottons to cobras and other fancy ophidians, including the deadly poisonous asp. "Those little things," says Cleo jokingly, "will be the death of me yet."

Doe-Eyed Dear

a sweet indian playmate adds a feather to our cap

Cigar stores never had it so good, we're sure, as we did the day we stumbled onto the happy hunting grounds of Pocahontas Matoaka, the bare-skinned dear who graces our gatefold at right. Picking Pocahontas as a Playmate was a case of perfect casting, since her name -- honest injun -- means "playful one." For her part, Pokey accepted our Playmate proposal without reservation. Equally handy with beaux and arrows, Pokey loves to whoop it up with visiting pilgrims in historic Jamestown, Virginia. She admits, however, that her dad (a longtime sagamore in the local real estate game) isn't nearly as fond of palefaces. "But I wouldn't let him harm a hair on your head," Pokey promised. Measuring a heap fine 37-22-35, Pocahontas stands as high as August corn and weighs less than a yearling doe. Besides selling chances on Indian blankets, modeling loincloths, and teaching friendly settlers how (and other Indian words), Pokey dreams of crossing the Big Water to England. But wherever she goes, you can be certain that when our Miss June gives with an Indian love call, it won't go unanswered.

Sleek Greek

we'd like to get her on a slow boat to ilium

Sunning ourself by the blue Aegean, we first beheld Hellas' high-spirited Helen of Troy as she toyed with a collection of tiny sailboats. Since that magic moment, we harbored -- and have now fulfilled -- a strong desire to see her in all her Grecian glory on the centerfold of Playboy. Helen, as her hobby hints, has a secret desire to officiate at a real ship launching. With a face as beautiful as hers, she could easily launch a thousand of them, we're sure. A favorite among Greek fraternities because of her swanlike grace, Helen claims to take after her father, whom she literally worships. Although she has lived a rather Spartan existence, she hopes to travel as a "war correspondent." At present she enjoys horsing around with itinerant Trojans and is toying with an offer to become a Paris mannequin. Her troy weight is Greek to us, but her classic dimensions (37-22-35) obviously hit the golden mean. Even a blind poet could foretell that wherever her Odyssey takes her, she'll find men fighting for her favors.

Come, Josphine

our imperious october playmate collects toy soldiers as a hobby

Of all the lucky pups of Paris, the most fortunate of all are the poodles who perch on the lap of lovely Marie Joséphine Rose Tascher de la Pagerie -- or just plain Josephine, as her many intimate friends call her. We first met joyous Jo while she was herding her oodles of poodles through a Paris park and, struck by her stunning Empire lines, quickly paged her for our Playmate page. A native of far-off Martinique, Josephine has become the darling of Parisian society. Carefree and coquettish, she loves to give swinging soirees and, of course, is the belle of every ball in her daring low-bodiced, high-fashion gowns. Along with a love for French antiques, she has a passion for collecting tiny toy soldiers. Her taste in men, she says, runs to "short, cute ones" in uniform. "I just adore those silly hats and tight pants they wear," says Jo. Although many a military man has campaigned for her heart, each has met his Waterloo because of her 37-22-35 figure. "I am still waiting," she says, "for my conquering hero on horseback."

Our Gal Sal

miss may's a veiled treat who wants a head start in showbiz

It was a happy twist of fate, as well as the tinkling of tambourines, that caused us to waltz into the tiny, out-of-the-way dance studio where we nearly lost our head over Salome Herodias, the golden-skinned Galilean gal who appears on the gate-fold at left as our Miss May. A serious student of belly ballet, Salome consented to a Playmate pose after we convinced her it would help her get ahead in choreography. And it was our pleasure to watch her undulate through the Jordan Valley garment district in search of a half dozen or so squares of flimsy silk for a new terpsichorean technique she's working on. "It's a strip that will really slay 'em," says sensuous Salome. Already a standout in the field of interpretive dance, she has a treasure chest of jewels given to her by admiring stage-door Johnnies. After busting our tape measure at 36-22-36, Salome told us that her ultimate ambition is to play a command performance at the Palace. But whatever her veiled destiny may turn out to be, we venture to guess that she'll get whatever she wants on a silver platter.

French Pastry

our sweet-toothed miss january literally takes the cake

When it comes to pomp and pompadours, no one in Paris' plush salons lives a lusher life than Marie Antoinette, a highborn Austrian angel who appears here as our heavenly Miss January. A kook when it comes to confectioneries, sweet Marie literally loses her head over cake. She also digs diamond necklaces, masked balls and Louis XVI period pieces. But it isn't fair to assume that Marie is a giddy girl caught up in the gay social whirl of the city; now and then she likes to pursue the pastoral life down on the farm, milking cows in a tailor-made gingham dress. Not one to bother her pretty head with social ills, Marie says her pet peeve is politics. "Zose silly men weez zer silly revolutionary ideas revolt me." Well endowed to keep abreast of the social set, Marie measures a nifty 59-23-37, and stands five-foot-seven in her stocking cap. Unlike most of our Playmates, she has no plans for a career. "Eet is such fun to, how you say, play, zat I don't ever want to work," avers Marie, who loves to entertain friends by doing imitations of a fictional character named Zsa Zsa Gabor. Her beauty is fit for a king.

we trade secrets with a slinky, sexy slyboots

Agent Provocative

When we first spied mysterious Mata Hari slinking around a corner in her high-buttoned trench coat, we knew at once that she was the kind of girl with whom we'd like to do undercover work. So, when we saw her again, sitting alone in a small, smoke-filled café, we quietly slipped her a coded note asking her to become our April Playmate. Her terse, uncoded answer was "Ja." A tight-lipped type whose square handle is Margaretha Geertrudia Zelle, Mata makes her living -- or part of it -- as a dancer. Although she is of German descent, she prefers to date high-ranking French and English military men because, she says, "they know such interesting things." She loves to read novels of foreign intrigue, but can't understand why they all end so unhappily. When we asked her for her measurements, she insisted that they were classified information, but. we finally plied them (39-23-37) loose after a night of wining and dining. All we had to tell her in exchange were our secret publishing plans for our coining Anniversary Issue.