The very first issue of Playboy magazine...

 When the very first issue arrived on newsstands, I was two months old... 

The cover girl for the first issue? Marilyn Monroe.

The first issue, in December 1953, was undated, as Hefner was unsure there would be a second. He produced it in his Hyde Park kitchen. The first centerfold was Marilyn Monroe, although the picture used originally was taken for a 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 $65,000 in 2019.

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This is today's online version if ya wanna look:

http://www.playboyltd.com/

It's not your grandpa's Playboy...

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An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmate of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979 (except for a six-month gap in 1976), the "P" in Playboy had stars printed in or around the letter. The legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. 

The stars, between zero and 12, actually indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that printing.

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