Double (or is it Triple) Theme Day . . . Low, Hairy, and Unknown

Today we look at some men who all have low hangers and are more or less hairy, too.  Also, these are all from my unlabeled files, so any identifying info on models or photographers would be welcome.  Edit:  This is David Selhime.  See comments.

We don't see obvious, undisguised receding hairlines in many physique and art nude photos, 

so that immediately caught my interest.  I'd like to see more of both the model 

and photographer's work, but I have no idea where to look.
Edited to add:  Anonymous comment says this is Scott Butcher by COLT.

If you're thinking you've seen this one somewhere before, you probably have.  It was the single most popular post of my entire five years on tumblr and it got reblogged like a hundred times.

All that, and I know nothing about it except that at least one expert says it is not photoshopped.

Although I don't have any source information on any of today's posts, this is the one I would choose if I could find out something about just one of them.  The posing and that sock 

just make me want to know more about everything to do with it.
Edited to add:  This is Umberto Visbal by George Platt Lynes.  See the notes for Bigbilly's description of this interesting model.

This guy is not exceptionally hairy, but he fits the bill for low hangers and is hairy enough.

Military Mass Almost Nudes

Our Wednesday lagniappe G-rated posts feature some almost naked groups of soldiers.  We start with some World War II Germans enjoying a trip to the beach.

This chummy and partially out of focus group seems to be ready for bath time.

This photo doesn't quite hit "mass" proportions, but I had to include it because of the cute donkeys.

The guy on the left seems to be lagging way behind on his undressing.

These scantily clad soldiers are enjoying an outdoor meal.

Military Mass Nudity

I just did a mass nudity theme a little over a week ago, but I had a request for some of the military sort, so here we go.  I don't know the nationality of these guys, but I wish I had been there.

This crowded beach is dotted with naked soldiers.

This one was left over from one of my old tumblr posts themed "human suspension bridges," 

but Miss Magnolia Thunderpussy, the source, assured me that these fellows are soldiers.

Mr. Scumbeast called this one "Maximum Gluteus," and it should appeal to the Bum Brigade despite the two guys showing their fronts.

Not all these 1930's Eastern European soldiers are naked, but it's fun to pick them out.

Back to the 19th Century . . . again

It should be no secret to those of you who follow my posts closely that I am quite partial to 

19th Century male nude photography.  So here we go again, starting with 

this picture reminiscent of a Classical warrior binding a wound.

This is yet another of my favorite photos about which I know nothing . . . other than I like it.

Today's photo for the Bum Brigade is similar to one I published 

in December, but I think this one is even better.

This is one of the oldest male nude photos in my collection, dating from 1851 according to a French museum website.  The photographer was Jules Dubosc-Soleil, 1817-1886.

I wish I had some information on this beautiful photo.  Anyone?

Earle Forbes (1897-1970) was born in Canada, but moved to New York as a young man to seek a career in the art world.  He joined Ted Shawn's troupe of all male dancers in the 1920's 

and started photographing the group as a hobby.  Before long, he was active in the 

emerging world of 1930's physique photography.  So today is Earle Forbes day, 

and we start with this 1938 photo of the Ted Shawn Dancers.

Earle Forbes' capture of the musculature on this unknown model is nothing less than amazing, especially given the fact that it was done with a box camera that he bought for $2.95.  Late in his career, Forbes bought a second camera . . . another box model that cost $4.95.

This is one of a well-known 1940 series of five photos Forbes made of various arrangements 

of these excellent models in and around the dune grass at Fire Island, New York.  

And is it just me, or does that ball seem too large to be a basketball?

Although not included in a lot of Earle Forbes retrospectives on line, this 1941 photo of Steve Gob is a personal favorite of mine.  Champion bodybuilder and gym owner Dan Lurie posed nude for Forbes in the 1930's and is quoted as saying,  "Yes, we all knew Earle was gay, but it didn't matter.  He took great pictures and got us into magazines.  Only later did we realize that he was selling 

the nudes to other gay men, and honestly, I don't think most of us cared."

Although not as prolific a photographer of Tony Sansone as his friend Edwin Townsend, Earle Forbes did produce several of my favorite shots of that amazing man.  This one is relatively rare for Sansone in that it is outdoors, and it may have been made at Fire Island, a location Forbes favored.

Shirtless Sports Teams

Our Sunday G-rated series features shirtless sports teams.  

I think these are early 20th Century wrestlers, but the photo came with no info.

Miss Magnolia Thunderpussy told me that this was a 1930's German Army football team.

See how much I love you guys in the Bum Brigade?  I even find something for you when I'm not doing nudes.  And even when I have no idea what is going on in the picture.  Isn't that ball too small to be a basketball?  (It takes five for that anyway.)  What other sport could this be?

Several of these early 20th Century Czech athletes sport Kaiser Bill moustaches.  

This is the 1936 Oklahoma University wrestling team.

Is tug of war a sport . . . even when done by physique models?

Today we look at some tug of war photos that mostly seem to lack authenticity.  Then again, how many real tug of war competitions would be done in the nude?  Oh, well.  It is what it is.

These guys make me think "late 1960's physique models hamming it up," but I suppose they might have been having a real tug of war.  On the other hand, they don't show the other team.

The Bum Brigade may appreciate this tug of war that I think was 

photographed in Germany between the two world wars.

I wish the photographer had included the rest of the team in this beach tug of war.

Both the models and the setting make me think of Don Whitman's work at Western Photography Guild, but I have no attribution for this fine photo.

Pool Hall Pals

My Daddy told me not to hang out in pool halls because there were unsavory characters there.  I didn't listen.  So fifty something years later here we are with pool hall pals on the blog,

starting with one of my personal favorites.

A certain viewer in Kentucky (you know who you are!) who swoons 

over broad shoulders should like this guy.

Stan Smith gives us a splash of color in this shot from 1968.

Someone seems to be getting a lesson in this past favorite from my old tumblr, and something tells me that shooting pool wasn't the only subject on the curriculum.

I think this is a Champion Studio photo, model unknown, to me anyway.
Edited to correct:  John IV informs us in the notes that this is John Skaggs by AMG.
Check out John's excellent blog at http://menfrombackthen.blogspot.com/ .
Second correction:  I got a note from Boz indicating that this is Bill Corey, and a search of my files produced two photos of the same guy with that name.  Some models used more than one name, so maybe this was one of them.

Jared French's male nude paintings are interesting to the point of being quirky.  We start with this relatively straightforward piece simply titled "Man."

"The Rope" is the title of this Jared French painting, which actually depicts the 

way men and boys were taught to swim in the early 20th Century.

Glenway Prescott, George Platt Lynes, and Monroe Wheeler (l-r) appear here in a format I have only seen as a three panel single image.  Did Jared French intend them to be displayed this way?  The settings differ markedly among them, although the three men are posed essentially the same way.  Multiple searches of all three names have produced only this version.

Painted in 1948, this Jared French work is titled "Prose."

 This Jared French painting came to me labeled simply "Male Nude."

Jared French Day

Jared French (1905-1988) was an American painter, photographer, and social pioneer of alternative lifestyles.  He was friend and occasional collaborator of the brilliant photographer George Platt Lynes (who took this picture) and was the lover of Paul Cadmus, a noteworthy artist.  French was also married to artist Margaret Hoening at the same time he and Cadmus were lovers.  The three of them lived together and formed the PaJaMa Group, a collective art project that lasted about a decade.  So today's blog posts are dedicated to this remarkable man, beginning with his male nude photos and moving on later to some of his paintings.

Ted Starkowski (left) and Chuck Howard were favorite models of Jared French, 

and he used them in both solo and duo photos.  Today I am posting a combination of those, 

starting with this personal favorite.  This is from about 1940, and of course it could 

not be published or publicly displayed at the time.

I think this solo photo of Ted Starkowski was made by Jared French on 

one of his frequent trips to the beach at either Fire Island or Nantucket.

French shot a short series on a stair well featuring Howard and Starkowski, and those are considered some of his best male nude photos.  I am posting two of them today.

Chuck Howard posed solo in this 1940 Jared French photo.