The Bill D. Collection
I recently had the good fortune and honor to have been gifted an amazing collection of 20th Century physique publications by Bob Mizer of AMG and the Kensington Road marque of Bruce Bellas, aka Bruce of LA. Bill D. of California sent me these magazines and catalogs, and it will take me months or years to even begin to do them justice. I cannot thank Bill enough, and as you will see, his generosity includes some of the biggest names in modeling of the era along with some lesser known men whose work will leave us wishing for more.
I'm beginning the sharing of these with something a bit different. I have scanned a single issue of AMG's Physique Pictorial from 1971 (Volume XIX, No. 1) and will present it exactly as it would have been seen, cover to cover . . . and without comment of my own. Viewers are welcome to comment, as always, and I will join in as appropriate.
I scanned these at sufficient resolution that they can be enlarged. I strongly suggest that you do enlarge them and read the text on the pages. I say this because there is everything there from model bios to political/social commentary to customer complaints to requests for material. (The Metropolitan Community Church and Pat Rocco both get mentioned.) You will notice that in a sense the whole thing is an advertisement for Mizer's stills and movies, products he made more money from than the magazine itself. And remember that these were really small booklets, measuring about 5.5 X 8.25 inches, and not the big glossy mags like Playgirl.
Finally, I need to thank Bill D. for not just his kind gift, but for lifting my spirits at a time when I was feeling burned out and tired of blogging. When I opened that box, I knew I wanted to continue this, and now I have a new direction. Bill, you're the best!
It sounds like this is the first time you have ever seen an issue of Physique Pictorial. If it is, well this is a treat for you. You're right. Basically PP was published to promote Bob's products -- photos, film and later, videos. He would often promote some other artist in the mag. Bob was a big promoter of Tom of Finland. In fact, my first exposure to ToF was in PP.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to thank Bill D. not only for exposing you to Mizer's magazines, but for also lifting your spirits and moving you to a new direction.
I look forward to next steps.
Yes, it was the first time I had ever seen a complete issue, and it affected me so much, I decided to try to give the viewers the same experience digitally. While Bill's gift only included a few of the pages of bad boys lost in my computer crash, there were enough others to do that series and more. Things are looking up.
DeleteFascinating. This is the first time I've seen a Physique Pictorial magazine, not just some pictures from it. Thanks, Jerry!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Like you, Larry, I'd never seen a complete issue. And I have to say that there is a bit of special magic when holding a copy in one's hand.
DeleteI dub him "Bill D. King."
ReplyDeleteThanks to Bill for his amazing donation and thanks to you for sharing. It really is stunning to see a full issue. I can't wait for more.
ReplyDeleteThe next series from the Bill D. donation won't be a full issue, but I think you'll find it interesting.
DeleteI purchased the "Complete reprint of Physique Pictorial" years ago, but as John stated it's stunning to see a full issue.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know they had done that.
Delete