Fig Leaf Day

I know fig leaf photos always leave us wishing for more, but they can be fun, so here 

we go with ten.  First up is Bohemian strong man and wrestler K. Pospeschil.

 

Lunge

I'm left wondering if a knife or sword was off to the left in this lunging photo.

 

Desbonnet

A very reputable European website attributes this to Prof. Edmond Desbonnet.  

The composition and staging make me think of Von Gloeden, although it is a bit tidier.

 

French Bush

We get a bit of a look at the model's bush

in this French physical culture photo.

 

Interesting

I think this is the most interesting photo of the series.  We have mirrors giving us 

some derriere views, and I find the interplay of the models to be fascinating.

 

Constantine Stelanov

This handsome discus holder is Constantine Stelanov.

 

Modest wader

OK, it's really a lily pad, not a fig leaf, but I had to include this.

 

Slippage

Is it just me, or was there a bit of slippage of the fig leaf in this photo?

 

Rope pull

Pulling on a rope really shows off this model's upper body muscles.

 

Eugen Sandow

I can think of no better way to conclude a fig leaf series than

the immortal Eugen Sandow as photographed by Warwick Brookes.

 

Matching fig leaves

This quarted had matching fig leaves and two Kaiser Bill mustaches.

 

Artistic Pose

I've posted one or two other photos from the session which produced the rather artistic number above.

Believe it or not, these were used to promote a comedy called Fig Leaves.

 

Fig Leaf

This is C.A. Bank photographed by Hanna of London in 1932.

 

Fig Leaf Popup

Today I'm doing a quick popup series on muscular early 20th C. men in fig leaves.  

We start with F.W. Guerin who was a student of Prof. B.A ;McFadden.

 

Drama

We get some dramatic posing from this well muscled unknown model.

 

Unknown hailing a cab

The fig leaf on this unknown model looks like it was added after the fact,

leaving me thinking there was a full frontal nude at some point.

 

Yuganson

Finishing our fig leaf popup with a 1912 

Russian photo of a model named Yuganson.

 

Fig Leaves, Part 1 - Painted-on Coverups

Generally speaking, well known late 19th and early 20th Century wrestlers and strong men didn't often appear fully frontally nude in photos.  In many cases, some sort of cover, usually a facsimile of a fig leaf, was placed over the crotch during the photo session.  At other times, some sort of cover seems to have been added later.  Part One of todays fig leaf double features shows some examples of what I believe to be the latter.  This is Mr. Rigoulot, whose crotch appears to have been painted over.

 

First Prize

This is Ange Camilli, and he won first prize for beauty.

 

A different version?

I think I may have an original unaltered version of this one in my files somewhere.

Who knows?  I might even have posted it, but I'm too lazy to look it up.