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Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Good Hair Day . . . if you like Pomade


I got an interesting request a couple of weeks ago from a viewer named Samuel who wanted to see a series of smooth guys with pomaded hair and shaggy bush.  I initially thought, oh boy, but it turned out to be fun and not too hard to do.  Our first model came labeled only "Bradford."  Pomade, for the uninitiated, is a hair product that is sort of a cross between grease, wax, and gel.  Most popular in the early to mid 20th C., they still make the stuff.  Here is a vintage brand image for you:

Edited to add:  In the comments, yo tells us that this is Joe Marcy by Douglas of Detroit.  Thanks!

9 comments:

  1. wow, stunning...look at that waist..and that hair..

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  2. Joe Marcy photographed by Douglas of Detroit.

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    1. Thank you! I should have known that, having posted several other photos done by that pair.

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  3. Lol - I used "Butch Wax" as a teenager - the stuff kept your crew cut standing straight up but by the end of the day there was enough grease on your forehead to lubricate your car - lol

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    1. Yes, our local barber even called a certain type of flat top haircut "the Butch."

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  4. Britain and America were separated by more than a mutual language at this period and styles and fashions were very distinct. Jerry, do you perhaps have a date for this superb photo? We didn't have Pomade but some men enjoyed the Brylcreem effect.

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    1. This photo certainly dates from prior to 1958, the year Doug Juleff's career ending arrest took place. Based on other photos of Joe Marcy on vintage print resale websites, I'd say about 1952-54.

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  5. Thank you so much. Quite an adventurous pose for the time. I wonder who saw it.

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    1. Well, who saw it (and when) is an interesting bit of history. The initial release was a private, mostly mail order process, although Doug Juleff did do some occasional face to face sales. (Although the postal laws were most used to persecute photographers of male nudes in the 50's, Douglas of Detroit was shut down by the Detroit Police under state obscenity laws after it became known that one of their cops posed for him.) I would venture that the initial viewing audience was small. There was, however, a second wave of interest in Mr. Juleff's work around 1992 when a local publisher in Detroit teamed up with him to reprint under his supervision some surviving negatives. Some, but not all, of these were used to produce a commemorative book which can be found on line occasionally. The prints not used in the book were sold (legally, thank goodness) to provide financial support for the photographer. I don't know if this stylistically groundbreaking photo was in the book or not, but 1992 reprints are available. As I noted earlier, Mr. Juleff sadly never took any more male nude photos. I think he was one of the two or three most talented artists of his genre.

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