"Sometimes it's all you can do to just barely hang on."

"I simply can't do a thing with this hair."

Earle Forbes Sunday, Part 2 - Semi-nudes

Part 2 of Earle Forbes Sunday features not quite nude photos, 

starting with the first of two images of Terry Robinson.

The Ritter Brothers posed for Forbes in this semi-nude, 

as well as a frontal nude I published in an earlier series.

Kimon Voyages posed for this Earle Forbes photo,

and I can't help but call the cropping "unfortunate."

The second of today's Forbes photos of Terry Robinson show some classic strong man posturing.

This photo of an unknown model came to me from a reputable source attributed to Earle Forbes,

but the model and style make me think more of Al Urban or Lon of New York.

Earle Forbes Sunday, Part 1 - Nudes

Earle Forbes was an excellent physique photographer most active in the 1930's and 40's who was born in Canada, but lived and worked in New York most of his life.  He is best remembered by chroniclers of his art form for his use of cheap box cameras, a remarkable series of outdoor nudes done at Fire Island in 1939, and an obsession with getting publishers to spell his first name with the 'e' on the end.  To get the spelling right, he generally stamped the back of his photos with his name spelled out, and that has resulted in a highly accurate rate of attribution.  So today is Earle Forbes day, starting with this handsome unknown model who leaves me wishing for more of his images.
Edited to add:  Identified by VintagePhysiquePhotographh in the comments as Charles Whitlock.
Most of his work was with Al Urban, but this one is different from those photos.

Although I have to admit to wishing for a full length photo of this unknown model, 

I can't complain about the quality of this version from the thighs up.

Simon Kornblum posed both nude and semi-nude for Forbes, 

as you will see in the second half of today's series.

Gym owner and early fitness guru Dan Lurie posed for this Earle Forbes photo and was known to joke about how he eventually knew the pictures were marketed to gays and didn't care.

Forbes showed his ability to capture fine muscle 

definition in this photo of an unknown model.

Muybridge - - - Muscle and Motion

Last week I posted some photo panel sets by Thomas Eakins which were used by him and his students in the 1880's as an aid to teaching painting.  At about the same time across town in Philadelphia, Eadweard Muybridge was doing his pioneering motion study work which resulted in some of the earliest viable movies being made.  (I've always wondered if Eakins and Muybridge knew each other.)  Both of them used African-American models, as in this Muybridge image set.

Muybridge actually enlisted a bona fide ballet dancer to make this series,
and the capture of his musculature is exceptional.

This sledge hammer wielding blacksmith is probably one of Muybridge's best known subjects with the movie version of this sequence being widely available on the internet.

I believe this young man was one of the University of Pennsylvania student athletes enlisted to model for Muybridge's pioneering 1880's motion studies.  My source does not name him, though.

The detail in this Muybridge sequence of a man working a scythe isn't the best, but I like it.

Outdoor Male Nude Art

It is surprising to me that such a small proportion of my male nude art collection features outdoor images.  I did, however, find enough for today's series, starting with "Champion Athlete" by Hayez.

This is a detail from "Shipwreck" by Gericault.

Here we have "Lacoon and Sons" by Allesandro Allori.

This is "Cain" by Julius Paulsen of Denmark.

I found this one on a now defunct tumblr blog and know nothing about it.

Random Beefcake, Outdoor Style

I have a large group of photos with very little or no information, and I feature them from 

time to time as "random beefcake."  Today, I'm focusing on outdoor shots, 

and his one looks like Bruce of LA's back yard, but I'm not sure.

Edited to add:  Identified in comments by W. as Larry Madden, aka Harry Heix.  Thanks!

The only information that came with this photo was the year 1969, 

which is more than I know about any of the other photos in this group.

Today's derriere shot features a young man in some palmettos. 

Here we have a reclining nude in the dust and dirt.

 

Mr. Scumbeast called this one "heel and toe."
Edited to add:  See comments where the_cham_cham identifies him as Al Abajian.

Men in and around Boats

It's boating day on the blog, and we start with a nudist in a motorboat.

I know a certain Belgian who might find this fellow irresistible.

I think this trio of young men by a boat is by von Gloeden.

This guy is partially hidden, and you can barely see the boat, but it works for me.

I don't have any info on this picture, but he looks Italian.

Metecue Associates Day, Part 2 - Non-nudes

Metecue's most active years straddled the late 1960's liberalization of U.S. obscenity laws, so one would expect a considerable body of work using posing straps or other means of obscuring genitals.  This is not the case, however, and I actually had to scrounge to find enough non-nude Metecue images to fill out this series.  I'll start with Chris Dillon who appeared on the cover of Jr.  Don't you just love that slogan, "The strength of America lies in its youth?"  This was at a time when the establishment thought American youth was going to hell in a handbasket.  Sarcasm anyone?

Davy and Dean are listed as brothers in this Metecue photo, but no last name is given.

Johnny Connelly appears to have been one of Ed Quirk's favorite models, based on the number of both nude and non-nude photos of him in my collection.  I'll feature more in later series.

Tom Pryor seems a bit architectural in this relatively rare Metecue posing strap photo.

Mike Bannion appeared nude in the first half of today's Metecue series,

but I have to say he's quite fetching even with cutoffs on.

Metecue Associates Day, Part 1 - Various Nudes

Metecue Associates was an Ypsilanti, Michigan based physique photo studio operated by Edward Quirk, likely a pseudonym.  Quirk was active as early as 1959 as Quirk Studio, but didn't get widely published until 1967 when he changed the name to Metecue.  In its heyday, Metecue  photos appeared in a number of magazines and independently distributed sets and booklets.  Quirk even had a newsletter called Metecue Memo to promote sales.  So today we'll take a look at some of Mr. Quirk's work, both nude and not so nude, starting with Bob Randall.

The blonde surfer style haircut places this Metecue of Mike Bannion in the late '60s. 

The Bum Brigade might appreciate this Metecue photo of Alan Davis 

in which he manages to show off both his derriere and face.

Here we have Mike O'Neal, and he seems to know exactly why he's having his picture made.

This is Alan Ryan, and he has a very engaging expression.

Beach Solos

Heading to the beach today for some solo shots, starting with a fellow given number 48.

This seaside basker's face is obscured, but you may like the picture anyway.

Our Bum Brigade beach photo features a bather walking into the waves.

Of today's posts, this is the one I suspect might not be by and amateur.

Those little European beach huts are handy for changing . . . and other things.

Wilhelm von Gloeden

Wilhelm von Gloeden was a German ex-pat who moved to Italy in the late 19th Century and took up nude photography of young men.  His work and his reputed sexual exploits with locals got him into trouble with the law, and he had to make a hasty return to Germany.  Meanwhile, he had taken a great number of photos, five of which I will feature today.  We start with an impressive model who was rather older than von Gloeden's typical subjects.

The liberal use of a wide variety or props was a hallmark of von Gloeden's work.  Often these were Classical Roman in nature, but not always.  This photo is relatively uncluttered compared to some.

Von Gloeden was known for photographing (and bedding) youths, 

but this somewhat older model is quite fetching.