Halloween Costumes

Yes, today is Halloween, and I'm doing an all costume series.  I can't tell if our first model is going for a pantsless Western saloon card dealer or a leprechaun look.  The garters say "card dealer."

This is the first of two devil types in today's series.  Both of them seem to be using the same costume, and although I get a strong AMG vibe, I have no photographer attibution.  Unknown model, too.

 Of course this is an early 20th C. representation of Mercury,

but I'd love to have this guy at my Halloween party.

Our second devil costume of the day features Lefty Grove.  

Anyone know the photographer?
Edited to add:  Likely by DSI according to James IV in the comments.

This nudist looks like he is being made up for some sort of Aztec/Day of the Dead combo.

Bob Delmonteque Wednesday, Part 2 - Semi-nudes

Bob Delmonteque avoided jail by avoiding publishing frontal nudes of his all male models.

This photo of Norman Tousley, however, can still impart a big dose of sex appeal.

Here we see Frankie Russell by a lake.  Don't you just love the curl on his forehead?

Lucky Harrington adds a splash of color to our Delmonteque series.

Glenn Bishop and Richard Alanby (sometimes spelled Allenby) posed 

together for Delmonteque in this fairly mundane posing strap photo.

This Bob Delmonteque photo of a wasp-waisted Joe Marcy piqued my curiosity.  It is known that Bob posed for Douglas of Detroit in Michigan, but did he also work there when he took this?

Bob Delmonteque Wednesday, Intermission - Bob's Biographies

This photo of Bob Delmonteque (1919 or 1926-2011) is supposed to have been made as he approached age 80.  That uncertainty comes from the fact that there conflicting versions of his birth date and location.  A promotional biography, presumably done with his cooperation, gives it as Texas in 1919.  His tombstone in California says he was born in 1926.  As a fitness business executive, he may have had reason to misstate his age as older than actual.  Either way, he remained in remarkably good shape, as did a number of his celebrity clients who included John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Rita Hayworth, Marlon Brando, and James Dean.  Busy guy.

This is probably my all time favorite Bob Delmonteque photo despite the subdued nudity.  I have always found it odd that he posed fully nude for so many photos, but took only a very few such pictures as a photographer of other models.  Perhaps he was afraid of the prospect of arrest and imprisonment that so many others faced, most notably Douglas of Detroit.  It is also worth pointing out that none of the official biographies and tributes on the internet mention his nude modeling.

Bob Delmonteque is documented to have worked for AMG, and this photo impresses me as a possible Bob Mizer work, I have no attribution for it other than my hunch.  Bob got around during his career, and was known to have been photographed in California, Michigan, and Illinois.  During his years as a fitness center operator, he was personally active in Texas, Mexico, California, Indiana, Michigan, and New York with franchises in dozens of other states and foreign countries.

Bob Delmonteque Wednesday, Part 1 - Nudes of Bob

Like Russ Warner, Bob Delmonteque transitioned from being a top model to a photographer who actually published a "how to" guide to physique photography.  Today I am doing a double feature on Bob, starting with his work as a nude model followed by an intermission piece with some biographical information and finally a second series of photos taken by Bob of other models.

Bob worked for AMG, Dave Martin, and most famously Douglas of Detroit.

This image is by Dave Martin at one of his favorite session locations, the Golden Gate Bridge.

Our Wednesday Bum Brigade twofer features Bob Delmonteque, an unknown 

second model, and an unknown photographer.  I have to say that the dunes 

make me think of Lake Michigan and Douglas of Detroit.

Douglas of Detroit was known for these dual image photos.  It isn't clear to me, however, if they are double exposures or composites.  Either way, they do impress.

This reclining photo of Delmonteque is different from the usual  both in terms of posing and lighting.

This unattributed photo of Bob Delmonteque caused me to waste a lot of time looking in my photographers' files for clues as to who may have taken it.  No luck.  Anybody know?

Off to the Races

Nude foot racing is our theme for Tuesday, and we start with three men headed for the finish line.

I wonder if one is chasing the other, or if they're just racing around in the country.

This is supposed to be from 1970, but it looks like a Playgirl photo which would have been a bit later.

In any case, it fits my foot racing theme, so here it is.

These Germans were photographed racing across a field in 1931.

Mr. Scumbeast called this one "bringing up the rear," so naturally I'm posting it last.

Showers of Physique Models

Heading to the solo showers today with some physique models.  We start with a handsome unknown from a one-off 1968 magazine.  Those tiles are incredibly busy, and his hair doesn't look wet.

Our Bum Brigade item features an unknown model and an old fashioned shower head.

Champion Studio produced this photo of Darryl Powers in our only outdoor shot of the series. 

This is Ed Forsythe as photographed in Bruce of LA's shower.

This one almost made one of my "boy next door" sets.
Edited to add:  James IV in the comments says,  "That's Charlie Ram using Bruce of LA's shower."

Tom Bianchi Polaroids, Part 2 - Non-nudes

Most of Tom Bianchi's Polaroids do not feature full on nudity, and out second Sunday series features those.  This one shows that intense sensuality often doesn't require nudity.

Some of Bianchi's pictures seem to have been elaborately staged while others were more impromptu.  I place this one in the latter category, although I suppose it could be otherwise.

Polaroids had the advantage of requiring no lab processing and providing instant gratification.

In this Bianchi photo, the "models" are having some fun with pictures presumably made earlier in the same session.  Note the high heels on the guy at right.

The see-through bathing suit (if that's what it is) in this Tom Bianchi image reminds me of Champion Studio's efforts to avoid arrest in the early 60's.  I think Tom used it just for aesthetics, though.

I thought posing straps were way out of date by 1975, but here they are in a Tom Bianchi Polaroid.

Tom Bianchi Polaroids, Part 1 - Nudes

Tom Bianchi grew up in Chicago where he would buy physique magazines.  He saw a photo in one of them of Glen Bishop taken on Fire Island, New York that he was particularly taken with.  After graduating with a law degree from Northwestern University, he moved to New York where he was a corporate lawyer.  Being a gay man, he became involved in the Fire Island scene, taking Polaroid pictures of his friends and acquaintances.  Those photos chronicled gay life on the eve of the AIDS epidemic, and Bianchi's  book, Fire Island Pines, Polaroids 1975-1983 is an unforgettable recollection of a lost time.  I am featuring images from Pines in both of today's series despite knowing some are beyond my usual cutoff date for vintage.  Tom Bianchi moved from law to a successful career as an artist and photographer, and he is alive and well today.

This hairy guy sprawled on a deck making a phone call struck me on some archetypal level.  Having come out during the period covered by Bianchi's pictures, it takes me back to that time.

And are those smooth black pebbles in his hand and at his elbow?  They add something to the image.

One of many things I like about Tom Bianchi's Polaroid collection is how the themes range from unabashed partying to quiet introspection, as in this picture.  In fact, those of you who pay attention to the tags on the posts will notice a much wider thematic range than usual.

The sky, the water, and the men are all appealing in this Bianchi surf photo.

In Tom Bianchi's notes, he described many of his 1970's peers and photographic subjects as being obsessed with having the "perfect" body type and appearance.  This photo of a trim model and some dumbbells is emblematic of an aesthetic that had some groups of men looking like clones.

1970's Polaroids didn't always produce the best picture quality.  In fact, they rarely did,

but the aesthetic in this one overrides that consideration.

Men with Cars

Going automotive today, starting with a strapping fellow with a Pontiac.

Roy Hilligen is enjoying a day in the California countryside with a Cadillac convertible.

I believe the photo is by Russ Warner.

This group of young men is enjoying an International Harvester truck modified to be a dune buggy.

These two are relaxing on the bumper of a late-1950's Chevrolet.

That's Helmut Riedmeyer perched on the hood of a Zephyr, made by the UK branch of Ford.

Eugene Jansson Day, Part 2 - Paintings

Shifting to Jansson's art for the second series today.  If you look carefully at some of the photos I posted earlier, you might see some Swedish Navy cadets who resemble this fellow.

This is a typical 19th C. academic drawing pose, 

and I find the model's hairy legs and arms interesting.

A personal favorite of mine, I think this painting has "attitude."

Although it didn't come to me labeled as such, I think this drawing is another Jansson academic piece.

This Jansson painting of a young man in a doorway appears to show some of his Stockholm city scene paintings in the background.  Did he paint it in a gallery or museum?

Eugene Jansson Day, Part 1 - Photographs

Eugene Jansson (1862-1915) was a gay Swedish painter who was influenced by the impressionists, but had his own distinct style.  Known for his Stockholm city scenes in his early career, he almost exclusively painted male nudes after 1900.  He took up swimming for his health, and frequented the Swedish Navy's Floating Bathhouse where he met many of his models and perhaps his lover, Knut Nylan.  Today is Jansson day, and we begin with some photos, mostly swimming scenes.