#20th century

I’ve liked this photograph for a long while, gazing out across the water he seems almost unaware his picture is being taken, relaxed and at ease to be outdoors undressed.

Regrettably I don’t have the name of the photographer, only that it was a shot from 1906/07 - I appeal to you, good readers of discerning taste and extensive knowledge, if anyone knows the artist I will be glad to add that information here!

[edit : My gratitude to one of my well-informed followers, who tells us “The photograph was published in the 1906 volume of Photograms of the Year, where it’s titled Bather and credited to Dr. A. Wilhelmij.”] 

I’m sorry, sir - your deeply dark seductive come-to-bed eyes, whilst alluring in the extreme, cannot be taken at all seriously when you’re wearing that. One of Vincenzo Galdi’s most sexy and daring models, early 20th Century Rome.

Time to bring out the warm winter coats and boots, as the weather has turned decidedly icy for December. I can’t quite figure out what he’s holding in addition to the cigarette between his fingers.

This weekend we reached the genuinely grand total of 1000 followers, and in an unexpected explosion of interest, are already at 1040 - greetings, newcomers, and my heartfelt thanks to all those who’ve found and followed, commented or contributed to this collection on its way to such an impressive readership.        

Our regular dose of Carlo, lover of Robert Kitson and photographed by Vincenzo Galdi. I still have a few more from his photoshoot saved up ready to share, I do hope you dear readers not becoming bored seeing so many of the same model, but he is rather lovely so I shall continue until I run out of pictures!

A fine young man displays his body for the camera with pride in this early 20th century nude. Though I don’t recognise the model from other images, the fabrics here indicate this to be by Vincenzo Galdi, the same pieces can be seen in many of his photographs (such as that dear favourite, the full-length portrait of Carlo)

Once again I must appeal to my widespread and knowledgeable readers, to beg a translation for the handwritten message squeezed into the pale part of this 1907 postcard - all I know is that I very much like the model poised so elegantly atop this annotated block!

[edit] I was very quickly provided with exactly what I wished for, my thanks to the helpful gent who sent the following :
As far as I understand the inscription on your photo is in Bulgarian:
Андрей, Честитъ ти именъ день, за много години. Пожеа ваме Ви щастие и успехъ. Андрей, тази картичка е подобна на твоята, наято ми прати, за имениятъ ми день. Приеметъ поздравъ отъ ?Всички ни Пеша.
This card is send to a certain Andrej on his name day. The sender(s?) wish him happiness and success. They also say that the picture reminded them of him.

Turn of the century titilation courtesy of Vincenzo Galdi, a smutty delight in an era where male nudity was generally presented as artistic innocence. Instead, he relishes the opportunity to provide startlingly saucy erotica featuring handsome Italian men, well-built, and often extremely well-endowed. We’ve seen a similar single shotbefore.

I always like to look up photographers’ names when they feature so prominently on cabinet cards. Mr Henry B. Herrington began his career in 1893 Minneapolis, worked from his address in Dexter, Minnesota from 1902 to 1904, then moved to nearby Hayfield and leased a gallery thereafter.
What these two chaps are looking at in their folded magazine must however remain a mystery - working together to complete a tricky crossword, perhaps?

vintagemusclemen:

These two were actually described as lovers by historians, but I have unfortunately lost the copy of this image with their names.  Anyone?

I cannot help with the gentlemen’s names (do tell @vintagemusclemen if you happen to know!), but was delighted to see this photograph - though we’ve not seen their lovely dogs before, the chaps have graced these pages in two other outdoor portraits.

The quite simply perfectNino Cesarini, posing for Guglielmo Plüschow circa 1905, in one of the most exquisitely beautiful portraits of his era - indeed, a timeless beauty which still stands out as something breathtakingly lovely to this day.

His shoulders enfolded in a thick cloak, this Galdi model shows not the slightest bit of shyness in flaunting his lower half, legs parted to expose all to the sun, and the viewer’s admiring eye. Vincenzo Galdi has seated his anonymous models on these dark volcanic rocks before, here andhere.

vintagehandsomemen:

Photograph of Tom White on Newporth Beach for a figure in ‘Under the Western Sun’ c. 1917.

Some further photographs of Tom White from this seaside modelling session can be seen here.

Presented as a triptych of three images mounted on board, this glowingly gorgeous dreamlike photograph was taken by F. Holland Day in 1909. It is well worth a few seconds of your time to linger here but a moment, and view this at full size.

A lean willowy model of incredibly handsome face poses for Guglielmo Plüschow, circa 1905, simple white background allowing his beauty to stand out with no need for embellishment.

A set of three studio portraits for this affectionate pair, photographed in the early years of the 20th century - it is always a pleasure to find the same faces in multiple shots; three even more unusual than two!

A difficulty in curating this collection into its third year is remembering all that I have featured before - just this afternoon I almost posted a photograph I had shown a long time ago (this, if you wonder what was so pretty I was enamoured all over again). I did catch my error in time, and instead have found a different yet no less lovely photograph by F. Holland Day, to fulfil the intended amount of dreamy delicate images he so perfectly supplies.

Hubert Julian Stowitts, displaying his truly fantastic physique and the superbly strong poise and lean muscular power of the professional dancer - his first career before moving on to film acting, and later, painting. Photographed in this series of dramatically posed and lit promotional pictures by Nickolas Muray in 1922 - a touch outside my usual era but when the images are so very striking as this, I can no longer resist including them!

I…have…noidea. 
This is without doubt one of the oddest efforts at being erotic that the previous century ever offered up.

As past posts featuring wrestlers have gone down rather nicely, I thought I’d add one more - though it may be pushing a little later than my preferred cut-off date I don’t think anyone ought mind too much, as it is still the better part of ninety years old.

gallimauphry:

Real photograph postcard of two identified young men in suits and bow-ties, one wearing a bowler and one with a straw hat, ca 1919. Watch fobs hang from their lapels. They sit in an elaborate scene of tree logs and climbing flowers. Back of postcard blank, printed: “Post Card, correspondence, name and address, place stamp here with CyKo logo”

Collection David Claudon, 2012

What else could I add which has not already been pointed out!