Let Yourself Go with “Unknow Delights,” Sometimes
Exhibition Flyer (First Issue Cover: 1919 / Click to download; there is the back side in Japanese)
There is an area called Greenwich Village on Manhattan Island in New York City. Since the late 19th century, when bohemians had moved there, it was the center of the counterculture on the East Coast for a long time. The magazine Playboy we introduce in this exhibition was published in the Village from 1919 to 1924. It is distinct from the Playboy magazine you may know, which was founded after the World War II.
Its editor and publisher, Egmont Arens, was the owner of Washington Square Bookshop, a bookstore in the Village at the time. Later becoming a successful industrial designer, he ran the bookstore while curating articles with a keen eye and printing the magazine on his own printing press. The magazine’s pages remain exciting to this day. The works of young artists, writers, and poets who would later gain fame in their respective fields are stylishly compiled within its pages. Looking at the backgrounds of the contributors to Playboy, it becomes clear that many of them were the residents of the Village. Since its opening, Washington Square Bookshop served as a hub connecting people.
No.2 Cover (1919)
This exhibition features the complete issues of Playboy, as well as the library materials related to Arens and Washington Square Bookshop. The subtitle, “Unknown Delights,” is taken from Arens’s founding statement. Playboy is filled with the energy which could indeed be called so — the energy that enveloped the Village at that time. During university life, there may be times when you overthink things. We hope Playboy will give you a little courage to let go of your heavy introspection sometimes and just do what you want.
This exhibition was made possible with the cooperation of Keio University Libraries, with whom we have developed a deep partnership in various areas in recent years. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude.
Waseda University Library
Dates & Venue
No.3 Cover (1919)
Dates：September 18 (Thu) – November 7 (Fri), 2025
Hours：Weekday 10:00am-6:00pm / Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm
Venue：Exhibition Room, Center for Scholarly Information, 2nd floor
- Admission Free. Visitors without a library card can enter, too.
- Special Opening Hours (～5:00pm)：9/20(Sat), 9/27(Sat), 10/30(Thu), 10/31(Fri), 11/1(Sat)
- A closed Day：9/23(Tue)
The List of Materials on Exhibition
Available in the exhibition room.
Virtual Museum
Being Prepared…
In Cooperation with
Keio University Libraries
No. 4/5 Cover (1919)
No.7 Cover (1921)
No. 9 Cover (1924)
No.8 Cover (1923)
