Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to offer this large rare surviving published pin-up pastel illustration, done for the U.O. Colson calendar company of Paris, Ohio – titled Firelight Glow, part of their 1939 calendar line. Easily the finest original pastel calendar pin-up illustration ever offered for sale by the prolific illustrator Jules Erbit, known typically for the more wholesome pin-up “girl next door” imagery he created for a variety of major calendar houses during the 1930s and 40s. In this erotically charged piece, a young red-headed model finds herself in an unguarded moment, frolicking on a bear skin rug playfully enjoying the comforts of hearth and home.

The U.O. Colson Calendar Company was founded in 1892 by Usher Orlando Colson, a full sized vintage large format calendar top and smaller vintage calendar print of “Firelight Glow” are included in the sale. The pastel is handsomely framed behind U.V. glass, and in a very fine state of original conservation, properly lined with a spacer underneath the glass to protect the pastel surface.