We realize we're leading with our collective chin by declaring the "best" of the more than 100 Playmates who've enlivened our centerfold in our first 10 years, but even among Playmates, we feel, some girls just stand out. Disagreement with our selections is bound to arise; there are undoubtedly as many individual lists possible as there are readers with adequate eyesight. To preclude having our office picketed by irate partisans, therefore, we are willing to make a deal: Promise to view our editors' choice with an open mind, and we in turn will — in the issues subsequent to this one — feature, each month, the Playmates of one year of the past decade. We invite your votes on them by mail. Then, next December, at the end of our 10th Anniversary Year, we'll print a Readers' Choice of Playmates, and see how your preferences compare with our own. Be apprised, however, that this month's compilation — judging from the amount of fan mail each Playmate's initial appearance evoked — is close to being the choice of readers as well as of our editors. Surprisingly, our more famous Playmates such as Stella Stevens, Jayne Mansfield and our first and most memorable Playmate of all, Marilyn Monroe (to whom Playboy devotes an entire feature next month), are not in this grouping. The possible reason for this is that the photographic charm of these lesser-known beauties (now the pin-up queens of the nation and the world) has overcome any inclination we might have had to judge by standards of fame alone. In short, we think our selections are just plain terrific, and if you'll take a look, we'll rest our case.
