#vintage photograph

What an absolutely charming affectionate 1870s portrait, two lovely young men with their legs each crossed the same, and gentle hand resting on knee. I wish I could be certain of the names pencilled down the sides, Henry DalondandWilliam Lewis being my best guess; any suggestions to the contrary welcome! Both handsome chaps, Henry just a little the prettier to me, though I’m sure some of you may favour William.

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 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 generous reader’s kind donation to the collection, an unusual and eminently interesting tintype image, which appears to have been woefully ill-treated in the past - how fortunate that it survived at all!

A fine Victorian stereoscopic photograph with a musical theme, a handsome violinist poses entirely nude - for reasons unexplained, as this is not a profession or pastime generally performed without respectable attire! This must have been a naughty delight at the time, the double image forming a fascinating three-dimensional illusion (a forerunner of the later 3D photographs and film viewed with coloured glasses) and as with all new technological innovations, swiftly turned toward making novel forms of erotica.

An endearing little snapshot of some sort of game taking place, with boots braced sole to sole they each grip a stick and presumably see who can pull the hardest to win, if not a prize, at least the momentary glory!

At first glance the handstand may look a little proposterous, but take a moment to admire the balance and strength displayed in holding such a pose, every muscle taut and defined; though we cannot see his face his body is beautiful.

A charming 19th Century photograph of two well-dressed young chaps, unselfconsciously displaying their affection with easily interlinked arms. I wonder what their matching strong-handled bags contain - they look a great deal like that my grandfather used to transport his set of bowls to various village greens across the county!

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.

Although my selection of studio photographs usually features double portraits of affectionate gentlemen sitting together, I happened across this picture taken in the Floridsdorf district of Vienna, c.1900, and was so struck by the spectacular hat I just had to give him a moment in the spotlight! An opulent concoction of feather and flower atop what appears to be a relatively everyday and sensible gent’s hat, we can only guess at what prompted him to wear such magnificent and overblown decoration for his photograph, and if, indeed, he wore this on a more regular basis than the single occasion on which it was recorded!

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!

An exemplary piece of von Gloeden’s work, with all the aspects for which he is renowned : a fine model in the first flourishing of his manhood, the perfect bloom of youthful beauty still on his handsome face, the classical feel lent by carefully chosen timeless settings. And then there is the detail to fill the frame with added attraction; once we have our fill of admiring the sitter, we can take in the finishing touches which add much to the scene, a vase, a jar, perhaps sculptural stonework, and so often flowers, some significant in their meanings. He was both the first to present this style of photography to the world, and widely regarded as the best.

Only the second gentleman in a light-coloured top hat to grace these pages (the first can be seen here), all the more eye-catching for the fact it appears to have met with some grievous accident and become permenantly somewhat crumpled! It does not seem to have disheartened the wearer, though, as he bears an adorably happy smile while he poses for a photograph with his dark-hatted friend.

A few months ago I posted two different copiesofone gorgeous photo by von Gloeden, depicting one of his favourite models, usually known by his nickname Il Moro. Here we see a second shot from his posing in this little secluded sun-trap, shifting position just a little his arm now curls around the olive jar which decorates the set.

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.

To end the month on a particularly pretty note, here is a beautiful portrait by Wilhelm von Gloeden; how sweetly he smiles, how expressive those lovely downcast dark eyes! Flowers softly resting on his hair and yet more clasped to his breast with the telltale deeply tanned hand of the outdoor worker - the only intrusion of his everyday reality into this heavenly portrait.

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!

jafcord:

• 1900

I’ve been unable to find out any further information on this photograph from the turn of the century - as always, if any of my readers can enlighten me I shall be glad of the kind contribution and add the details here.

[edit]
Not one but two of our fine followers have sent in their thoughts on this photograph -

“This is an anatomical demonstration, the ‘professor’ is pushing down on the model’s arm so that the model’s muscles will stand out as he resists. There was a Canadian anatomist named Lockhart who published a book of similar photos entitled Living Anatomy. I think that this photo is too old to be Lockhart’s, but it is the same genre.”

“I think this is part of the stereo collection of Dr Desbonnet -although I can’t find at this moment where in my blog I put it. Athlete pictured is probably Ernest Cadine.”

My thanks to you both.

thatanthonyguy:

Nude, 1896

by F. Holland Day

A sublime subtle nude by one of the greats, a restful scene of quiet contemplation in a gorgeous sun-dappled outdoor setting, simply perfect composition, a beautifully easy and relaxed model, and a tangible sense of peace and calm as by cool still water he gazes away into the leafy woods. Oh to feel grass beneath my toes again, I do so miss summer and soft green!

A distinct contrast to my previous post, this all sweet smiles and charming innocence!