#affectionate men

Time for a little sweet silliness, with this unusual and greatly amusing submission from a reader! Sadly their names are lost in time, though I perhaps detect a hint of family resemblance (particularly around the eyes), and would hazard a guess they are all linked by blood not friendship alone.
The picture was taken in Brașov, Romania (known as Kronstadt in German and Brasso in Hungarian)

Quite simply splendid! This photograph has it all : the dapper chaps in superb hats, the elaborate painted backdrop and quirky choice of seating (is that an umbrella stand he perches upon?), even the delicately worn edges of which I am so fond - and oh, that hand-tinted blush to the cheeks!

In honour of the wonderful Oscar Wilde, whose 159th birthday it is on the 16th, pictured here with his beautiful and beloved Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’ Douglas.
(My earlier posts featuring this dapper pair can be found here)
 

Unusual for being taken outdoors in an era where the controlled lighting of a studio was still preferred by most seeking their portrait immortalised in print, this presents a refreshing and most charming change from the painted backdrops and shadowy drapes. There is a casual spontaneity to it, in the way they appear indifferent to the photographer, not even looking into the lens.

Whilst many Victorian gentlemen sitting for their studio portrait together chose the simplest expressions of affection - interlinked arms, or one hand upon the other’s knee - this pair are surprising in their uninhibited intimacy, tucked close as can be and embracing tightly, they ignore the photographer entirely and gaze instead into one another’s eyes, a warm smile on the face of the fellow looking down.

A charming group portrait here, two men and their devoted dog, looking quite comfortable to lie across both laps - any struggling movement would have blurred the image but we see he is as sharply captured as his master and companion. This would have been taken in a professional studio, despite the misleadingly domestic background, which is in fact a skillfully painted backdrop - many scenery painters from the theatre found additional work with the emerging photographic trade.

From the explicit to the innocent; a gentle hand-hold in the photographer’s studio, circa 1870.

Jack, Michael, and an annotation which inevitably adds a smile once you know what was occurring out of shot!

vintagehandsomemen:

c. 1860s

What a wonderful picture - I have often noted sitters’ cheeks given a rosy blush with soft hand-tinting, but this is the only time I’ve ever seen a portrait with nipples delicately pinked!

Two delightfully entangled young chaps from the early 20th Century, everything about this makes me smile!

My, how this faintly colourised photograph amuses me! While the cheery chap on the left shows veritable confidence, almost a satisfied pride, in his unashamed and extravagent fondness for his friend, the other gentleman (with most excellent hair) has an air of deadpan tolerance, with just the slightest hint of irritability. “Oh, must you? How tiresome.”

Often I’ve expressed a certain fondness for the funishings in Victorian and Edwardian studio portraits, the elegant carving and detailed wickerwork, a quirky eccentricity and old-fashioned appeal - things I’d dearly love to have in my own home.

Not this time.

Posing with what has to be the most singularly vile item of furniture I’ve ever laid eyes upon in a vintage photograph, two smart chaps from the early 20th Century - the fellow on the left has such lovely hair curling over his forehead.

At times I’m awfully tempted to create a blog just for the appreciation of vintage men in extraordinary or wonderful hats. But I’m sure such a thing must exist already somewhere, so I shall just post occasional pictures in which the hats are especially noteworthy. This one also contains some affectionate gentlemen in fine uniforms, and a very pretty dog.

A lovely touch, the soft hand-tinted blush to their cheeks, and I do so like the edges of pictures like this, the damage and decay - some people trim images for neatness and edit out imperfections, but for me, the reality of well-worn and fragile pieces is half the appeal, physical things which have survived the decades and been somewhere all that time, a concept mostly lost in our age of creating only digital image files.

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.        

Comically Inventive and Vaguely Homoerotic Ways to Share One Seat #2. Love how his feet hover just above the floor there, and the deadpan ‘this is perfectly ordinary’ expressions, in this studio shot from 1875.

In an age when studio photographs were generally taken with a stern and stiff formality, it’s a joy to find such a lively and candid shot where the two smartly dressed gents appear to be taking it far less seriously - one looks on in amusement whilst his companion suffers from a fit of the giggles. I do love these decadent little gold frames, too, so very prettily over the top.

A lovely seaside scene in the backdrop for this affectionate pair, stopping to have their photograph taken together while visiting the coast, perhaps? A great many early photographers set up in seaside towns, the souvenir photograph being a fine luxury to take home from a trip, the scenery outside recreated in the studio to capture the atmosphere as best they can.

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.