1953年，《花花公子>>在芝加哥问世，其创办者休·海夫纳（Hugh Hefner）于自家公寓的餐桌上完成了创刊号的编撰工作。六年后，已然跻身畅销杂志行列的《花花公子》刊登了一篇关于连锁俱乐部“煤气灯俱乐部”的独家专访–在那里，客人们可以在身着束身衣的美女环绕中尽情享乐。鉴于读者对此篇文章的热烈反响，该杂志的推广总监维克多·楼恩斯（Victor Lownes）向海夫纳建议道：我们何不创办自己的“煤气灯俱乐部”呢？这张黑白照片记录了上世纪50年代轰趴帮们庆祝“煤气灯俱乐部”分店开业的场景。
极具标志性的花花公子兔女郎装扮最初来源于维克多·楼恩斯的女朋友伊尔瑟·陶伦斯（Ilse Taurins）的灵光乍现：她建议海夫纳将花花公子杂志的邦尼兔商标转变为俱乐部女招待身上的性感服装。据说，海夫纳起初并不以为意。直到几天后，陶伦斯身着色丁布一件式紧身衣、戴着毛茸茸的兔尾巴和俏皮的兔耳朵出现在他面前时，海夫纳这才茅塞顿开。而兔女郎行头不久后也成为了美国历史上第一套被正式注册的制服。
花花公子俱乐部以钥匙作为会员身份证明，其会费收取标准为本地居民50美元和外地游客25美元。而这把钥匙俨然成为了象征社会地位的标志。实际上，大部分钥匙持有者甚至从未踏入过任何一家花花公子俱乐部。1961年，《时代周刊》将其称之为“最能与耶鲁大学颁发的美国大学优等生全国性荣誉相匹敌的物件”。
纵观整个1960年代，花花公子的连锁俱乐部获得了极大的成功。在巅峰时期，其旗下的30余家店面遍及全球，从美国奥马哈到日本大阪，处处都有它的身影。随着英国放松对博彩业的管制法规，海夫纳便于上世纪60年代早期开设了伦敦第一家花花公子俱乐部。据传，时至1981年该俱乐部已成为全世界利润额最高的赌场，并以其赌博收益支撑起整个花花公子帝国的大半江山。
当时的娱乐名人们都迫不及待地想被要花花公子标识所代表的老成世故的光环所笼罩。而花花公子俱乐部也吸引了包括灵魂乐手雷·查尔斯、流行乐二人组桑尼与雪儿、奥斯卡影后丽莎·明尼莉以及脱口秀明星乔治·卡林在内的一大批顶尖演艺明星前来光顾。多年以来，为俱乐部工作过的25 000名兔女郎中也不乏优秀之人脱颖而出，例如摇滚歌手黛比·哈莉。黑白影像捕捉到1969年歌手小萨米·戴维斯在伦敦的花花公子俱乐部亲吻一位女宾的瞬间。
时光流转至上世纪80年代，花花公子俱乐部的星光渐渐褪去。当俱乐部经营非法赌博事业的流言喧嚣直上之时，花花公子最为成功的伦敦俱乐部在1981年的一次警方临检后被撤消了赌博执照。社会强烈舆论抨击俱乐部的性别主义歧视倾向，而更为致命的是，它竟被指出已经落后于时代。这张摄于1986年的照片展现了纽约俱乐部举办的派对上欢闹嬉戏的兔女郎们。然而，仅仅在此两年之后，位于密歇根州首府兰辛的分店关门停业标志着花花公子俱乐部在美国本土全军覆没。而其最后一家国际俱乐部也在1991年彻底倒闭。
译文：
Hugh Hefner started Playboy in 1953, producing the first issue on the kitchen table of his Chicago apartment. Six years later, when the magazine was already a smash hit, the magazine ran an article about an exclusive chain of clubs called the Gaslight Clubs, where customers were served by women in corsets. Inspired by the reader response, Playboy’s promotions director, Victor Lownes, recommended to Hefner that Playboy start it’s own exclusive club. Here, partygoers in the 1950s celebrate the opening of a new Gaslight Club branch.
The iconic Playboy Bunny outfit was the idea Victor Lownes’ girlfriend Ilsa Taurins, who recommended using the magazine’s bunny logo for inspiration for the costume. Hefner reportedly rejected the idea until Taurins walked in a few days later, wearing a satin one-piece, a fluffy tail and bunny ears. Hefner was persuaded, and the bunny outfit soon became America’s first ever officially trademarked uniform.
Membership to the club – $50 for residents and $25 for out-of-towners – was represented with a key. The key became a status symbol; in fact, most keyholders never even visiting a Playboy Club. In 1961, TIME called it “the closest thing to Phi Beta Kappa from Yale.”
Through the 1960s, the Playboy Clubs were a huge success. At its peak, Playboy had more than 30 clubs around the world from Omaha to Osaka. With the relaxation of British gambling laws, Hefner opened up a London Playboy Club in the early 1960s. By 1981, it was reputedly the most profitable casino in the world, buttressing much of the Playboy empire with its gambling revenues.
Celebrities of the day wanted to be associated with the aura of adult sophistication that the Playboy brand represented. The clubs were able to attract many of the top acts including Ray Charles, Sonny & Cher, Liza Minnelli and George Carlin. Some of the 25,000 bunnies that worked in the clubs over the years went on to be famous too, including rocker Debbie Harry. Here, singer Sammy Davis Jr. kisses a guest at the London Playboy Club in 1969.
In the 1980s the clubs’ star began to fade. In 1981, the successful London club lost its gambling license after police raided amidst rumors of gambling irregularities. The clubs were criticized for being sexist, but even more damaging was the feeling that they had become passé。 Here, bunnies celebrate a party in New York in 1986. Only two years later, the club in Lansing, Michigan would close, leaving Playboy with no more American clubs. Its last international club closed in 1991.