Hugh Hefner checks out a new 6-volume set celebrating Playboy's early days

Here's a seriously sexy gift idea for someboy on your list: The new $1,300 six-volume tribute to Hugh Hefner's Playboy 1953-1979, out this week from Taschen Books, just might be worth it.

The collection focuses on the best of the first 25 years of Playboy, and is being published in a limited edition of 1,500 copies, each signed by Hef himself. It comes with a facsimilie edition of Playboy #1, circa 1953, featuring the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe that helped cement the magazine's legacy from day one, as well as full size cover reproductions of all 312 magazines from the era, and 59 full-size centerfold reproductions.

Early purchasers will also get an invitation to the private launch party on December 10 at the Taschen store in Beveryly Hills.

Via Taschen.com:

Hef’s personal life and career?from childhood to aspiring cartoonist to astonishing success with Playboy, liberating Americans as they began to move away from the restrictions of the Eisenhower era?are revealed in this most intimate portrait ever.

This sumptuous six-volume anthology celebrates the decadence, sophistication and wit of the quintessential men’s magazine and its creator. A wealth of never before seen ephemera from Hefner’s personal archives includes original artwork, cartoons and correspondence, and a vast selection of personal photos?many previously unseen?and behind-the-scenes shots from the Playboy Mansion, Playboy Clubs, and the Big Bunny jet. This is the definitive history of Playboy and its legendary founder.

Packaged in a 10 mm thick Plexiglas box, Hefner’s Playboy features 59 of the hottest centerfolds in full size, and all 312 covers from the magazine’s first 25 years, plus a facsimile edition of Playboy’s groundbreaking first issue featuring Marilyn Monroe’s iconic nude portrait.