Townsend

 

Edwin Townsend took this demure, but still impressive, photo.  The lighting is exceptional.  

Edited to add:  Oops!  This is actually Charles Atlas.  See comments below.

In Just Seven Days . . .

"In just seven days, I can make you a man."  Those immortal lyrics sung by Dr. Frankenfurter in Rocky Horror paraphrased one of Charles Atlas' phenomenally successful ads promoting his Dynamic Tension method of bodybuilding.  So yes, friends, it's Charles Atlas Day on the old blog.  "Would you mail this coupon to get a body like mine?"  Damn right, I would! Sign me up.

 

Early On

This picture is probably from the early 1920s.  Mr. Atlas developed his body further from this point, 

but always naturally and in proportion.  No modern grotesque look for him!

 

Graceful

I defy you to find a more graceful handstand by a well built man.

 

Power

We go from grace to power in Mr. Atlas' version of the Discobolus.

Actually, I think we get both those properties here.

 

1930s

No effort was made to conceal that nice bulge in this photo from the 1930s.

 

Autographed

This one is autographed, "Yours for physical perfection, Charles Atlas 1932."

 

Three Views

I don't know if these three photos meant to be seen together were part 

of an exercise guide or just a display of Mr. Atlas' fine body.

 

Compare

Compare this photo and its measurements to the second picture in today's set and you will see how Charles Atlas tastefully and naturally pushed his development along.

 

Geometry

I love the geometry in this one.

 

Business was booming

Charles Atlas' advertising campaign is still taught as on of the most successful in history 

by university business programs a century after he started it.  He did so well, that he 

had to move operations from his home to a suite of offices, as shown above.

 

The closest we'll get

Our last photo is one that I posted five and a half years ago is probably as close as we 

will get to a frontal nude of Mr. Atlas.  He was known to have posed nude for several 

heroic statues, and he is shown here with an unknown sculptor.  The package 

may or may not be an accurate depiction, but it's all we have.

 

Atlas

Google provided the provenance for this one, but I'm leaving it in the series.

What we have here is the immortal Charles Atlas on a 1929 post card.

 

Charles and Friend

Some lucky guy is holding Charles Atlas on his shoulders in this one.

 

Charles Atlas Day

Born Angelo Siciliano in Italy in 1892, Charles Atlas was one of the most iconic proponents of physical training of the 20th Century.  His system of bodybuilding was advertised in comic books and just about anywhere else there might be an inkling of interest.  Although he never became fabulously wealthy, he did very well and bought his family a beach house in a nice part of Long Island.  He was not afraid to use the word "beauty" in reference to males, and I think that he was well entitled to do so.  This excellent photo is by Edwin Townsend, probably from the 1930s.  Today is Charles Atlas Day.

 

Modeling, 1940s

I'm including this photo of Mr. Atlas modeling for two reasons.  First, it's the closest we're ever going to get to a full frontal view.  (Assuming that he took his leopard print trunks off for the actual modeling, and assuming that the sculptor accurately represented what he saw, we may now have a idea about how things looked down there.)  Second, this is supposed to be from the 1940s, a time at which Charles Atlas would have been about 50.  Looks pretty damn good to me.

 

1932

This autographed photo of Charles Atlas from 1932 is of the same style and time frame as that by Edwin Townsend that I used to open today's series.  It's damaged, but still shows off his fine form.  Even if it was a few years old, the man would have been close to 40 years of age at the time.

It's signed:  "Yours for physical perfection, Charles Atlas, 1932."

 

1929

 

This is actually a post card that I found on an online auction website with a reserve price of $700.

From what I know of such matters, that is an entirely realistic expectation.  Too bad the scribble at lower right isn't Mr. Atlas' autograph, or it would no doubt fetch even more.

Atlas as Atlas, 1924

Charles Atlas was a scrawny kid, and the story of a bully kicking sand in his face at the 

beach is said to be true.  After getting hold of one of Eugen Sandow's texts on physical 

development, he embarked on a program that he gradually developed into the fairly unique 

approach that he called Dynamic Tension.  (I knew a guy who was still using a Charles Atlas 

course in 1965!)  The 1924 ad above is a classic that literally ties into his stage name, and 

several experts have described Mr. Atlas' business as the longest and most successful 

advertising campaign in history.  "In just seven days I can make you a man!"

 

1922

This  is supposedly a 1922 photo of Charles Atlas in a posing strap, and I like it because it shows a bit of bush and has him in a somewhat unusual pose.  Oh, and that bulge is nice, too.  What I can't figure out is how the posing strap is attached and just what his hand gesturing indicates.