Playboy was an American magazine published quarterly by PLBY Group. Founded in 1953 by American magazine publisher Hugh Hefner (1926–2017) as a monthly magazine, it published general-interest features aimed at men interspersed with images of nude or semi-nude women, before ceasing print publication in 2020.

Each issue contained original articles written for men together with photographs of celebrities and professional models, as well as regular columns, fiction, personal stories, letters, advice pieces, news and interviews with public figures. It also included a full-frontal centerfold poster featuring a model (known as a Playmate) of the month, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which listed her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and turn-offs. During its tenure, the magazine published short stories by a number of leading writers, including Arthur C. Clarke, Ian Fleming, Vladimir Nabokov, Saul Bellow, Chuck Palahniuk, P. G. Wodehouse, Roald Dahl, Haruki Murakami, and Margaret Atwood.

The magazine’s first issue was left undated—as Hefner was unsure there would be a second—and featured a photograph taken at the Miss America Pageant parade in 1952 of American film star Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) on the cover. A previously unused nude study of her was used as the centerfold; Monroe did not consent to the publication. Hefner later acquired (and is now interred in) the crypt beside Marilyn at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, for which he paid $75,000 in 1992.

The Internet Archive Collection contains microfilm published between 1953 and 2014. 

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playboy

The ISSN is 0032-1478