Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Popular Library #221. The Buxom Blonde as object of leering men was certainly promoted by Bergey if not created by him. This cover, probably his second most famous and sought-after by collectors, shows his range from the more realistic face to the cariacuture. Evidently, most people including Congressmen, noticed the cleavage, evidently offensive by 1950 standards.
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										ohn Erskine, The Private Life of Helen of Troy, Popular Library #147. Two years later, Bergey produced this, his most famous and controversial cover, and the one that in the end cost him his job. Pulp magazines had protrayed the female nipple protruding through clothing, but censors in the 1940's had pretty much curbed the pratice. In 1952, Bergey dared return to his roots with this illustration of another buxom blonde in the thinnest of material. A debate broke out within Popular Library over whether or not the cover should be printed, and if so, whether the nipple outlines should be removed. Deciding after much feuding that the cover was "historical" rather than lurid, Popular Library printed it without change. Immediately they regretted their decision because, despite brisk sales, the cover became one of the targets of the Congressional investigation. Within weeks of its publication, Bergey was released by Popular Library.
		His style probably cost him his job with that publisher. When the Congressional hearings on "sleaze" and "immorality" in paperbacks heated up in 1952, Popular Library sacrificed Bergey in the name of "cleaning-up" their firm.