Navy Day

 

Join the Navy and See the World!

Yes, they saw the world, and as an added bonus, a whole lot of naked and half naked men.

It's Navy Day, and we start with a bunkroom prank on a sleeping 1950s sailor.

Crowded bunkroom

Lots of beef in this crowded ship's bunkroom . . . and some idiot is smoking.

 

Submarine shower

I think this is a group of German U-boat sailors getting an shower.

 

Deep divers

The two guys at left rear are naked, but we can't really see anything.

Those diving helmets are classic pre-scuba gear.

 

Medical

Some sort of medical procedure seems to be going on here,

but I can't figure out what it might be.

 

The Australian War Memorial preserved this photo of captured German sailors 

getting an on deck bath. The guy in uniform makes me think World War I.

 

Underwater Demolition Team

Before we had Navy Seals, there were Underwater Demolition Teams.

These hunky fellows from World War II comprised one.

 

On deck

These sailors are supposed to be enjoying some sort of on deck swimming pool.

 

Let's play!

Yes, let's all play hide the soap. I'm sure bending over was involved.

"Ivory soap had a good many unusual experiences during the way . . . "

Read the whole text.  It's a hoot.

 

A last favorite

Closing out Navy Day with an old favorite from my tumblr days.

 

Vincenzo Galdi Day

Although there were several 19th Century photographers who occasionally posed nude, 

Vincenzo Galdi is the earliest example I have found of a model who went on to become a 

photographer.  A model and disciple of Guglielmo von Pluschow, he went onto achieve success

 in both nude work and high quality portraiture.  Recently, I have seen quite a few 

of his works for sale on line, and that's where I found most of today's pictures. 

 

Antique Erotic

I found this photo on an old tumblr blog called Antique Erotic.

I really miss that guy's well curated offerings.

 

Roman

Even the footwear here fits the Roman theme.

 

1900

The wheel is almost a distraction in this Galdi photo from 1900.

 

Straight on

The young man here is looking straight on toward the camera.  Seems intense.

 

Interesting

I can't tell if this is on a beach, at the mouth of a cave, or just some random rocky spot.

 

Modified

I found this one on an obscure website and removed severe yellowing to make it presentable.

Despite my best efforts, there is still a definite lack of good contrast.

 

Man with Two Flutes

An original of "Man with Two Flutes" was recently sold for $1200.

 

Uncertain

This photo of a very well built man was described by my source

as a likely Galdi, but possibly by Von Pluschow, Galdi's mentor.

 

Bad hair day

I think our last Galdi model may have been having a bad hair day,

or perhaps he just had poor taste in hairdos.

 

The Gloucestershire Police in the Early 20th Century

There seems to have been an unwritten requirement that men joining the Gloucestershire Police in the early 20th Century had to be good looking and possess a mustache.  Today's series starts with P.C. 350 John Shellswell who joined the force in 1892, but whose photo here is from about 1904.

 

P.C. Walter Lafford

"Spiffy" comes to mind when I see P.C. 350 Walter J. Lafford in his neat 

uniform holding white gloves.  Some justifiable pride comes shining through.

 

P.C. Cove

P.C. 19 Mark Cove posed in front of a door with some ornate iron work.

 

Stroud 1906

I don't know why two of them are out of uniform, but these men are the police of Stroud, 

a market town in south central Gloucestershire.  The photo was made in 1906.

 

P.C. Buffin

The early 20th Century photo studio in my home town in Texas had a rustic 

prop nearly identical to this one.  Our officer is P.C. 127 Josiah Buffin.

 

P.C. W.S. Shute

A number of Gloucester policemen joined the British Army in the Great War, 

and P.C. W.S Shute was one of them.  He became a Sergeant-Major stationed

 in Egypt.  I believe he is shown here in his army uniform.

 

P.C. Eames

P.C. 212 Frederick Eames seems like a jolly sort of guy.

Reminds me of Captain Kangaroo.

 

Vinegar Strike

I don't know whether to describe these two policemen as amused or bemused, but I do know they 

were called out to keep order when the Gloucester Vinegar Factory workers, nearly all women, 

went on strike in 1912.  The men are Sergeant 28 John Brooks and P.C. 144 Frederick Ball.  

Sergeant Price

This handsome fellow is Sergeant William Price, No. 292.

 

Superintendant Jotcham

Our last example of Gloucester's finest is also the highest ranking, 

Police Superintendant John Henry Jotcham. stiff upper lip and all.

 

Quartet Day

Today we're doing everything by fours, starting with this photo Mr. Scumbeast gave me.

He said the fellow pointing was saying,  "Look!!! Crocodiles!!!"

 

Just getting started

These guys are just starting to get out of their clothes.

We'll see them later in the altogether.

 

Hanging out

Here we have some nudist males just hanging out.

 

Cavers

Two of these guys are looking at us over their shoulders.  Mr. Scumbeast 

said these were American GIs about to expore a water cave.

 

Pageant Lineup

Number two in this nudist pageant lineup has the goods covered.

 

Sauna dash

We can't see it, but these World War II Germans are running out of a sauna into the snow.

 

Aussie Nudists

These four are from a late 1980s Australian nudist magazine.

 

Finished

This is the same group we saw earlier getting undressed.

Their height differences are even more noticeable naked.

 

GI Washup

Mr. Scumbeast called this one Army Bath Time, and I think they are Americans.

 

What's wrong with this picture?

Calling Big Dude!  As our resident shadow expert, I'm calling on Big Dude to tell me why I think the thigh shadows here don't seem quite right.  I could be just imagining things, I suppose.

 

Herbert Tobias

Today we look at the work of German photographer Herbert Tobias, 1924-1982.

He lived a very interesting life:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Tobias

We start with The Boys in the Back Room from 1975.

 

George Napoleon

This is George Napoleon in Tobias' Garden from 1978.

 

1952

This is "Dick in Front of the Window" from 1952.

 

Amsterdam

Herbert Tobias did a series of photos in an industrial area of Amsterdam in 1981 

called "Amsterdam Without Return."  The term "gritty" immediately comes to mind.  

 

Arthur Umboh

Arthur Umboh posed for this one in 1980.

 

1975

The only info I have on this one is a year, 1975.

 

Woodsy

The title of this 1960 photo translates as "The wonderfully beautiful German forest."

 

 

Manfred Schubert

Herbert Tobias took this photo of Manfred Schubert in Berlin in 1954.

 

1976

I think this was made on a 1976 visit to New York.

 

Hamburg

This is one of Herbert Tobias' works from Hamburg in the 1970s/