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.

 

"In just seven days, I can make you a man."

Charles Atlas (1892-1972) wasn't the first guy to mass merchandise fitness regimens, but he was far and away the most successful.  Although he began selling courses with a partner in 1922, he went solo as Charles Atlas, Ltd. in 1929, and the company remains in business in 2019.  The photo above is from 1921 when he won the title of World's Most Handsome Man under his real name, Angelo Siciliano.  There are no known frontal nudes of Atlas, so this will mostly be a day of the derriere. 

This photo autographed "Yours for physical beauty" by Charles Atlas  

is one of the best in my collection.  The man really was beautiful.

This is the only straight-on derriere view in my Charles Atlas collection.

This photo of Charles Atlas and Tony Sansone depicting "The Slave" 

was published by the Grace Salon of Art of New York.

I don't know the publication this page came from,

but I suspect it was from one of Atlas' instructional pieces.