1930s Day

Today we visit the 1930s, and I know very little about more than a few of the photos.

This is one that should be well known, but Google Images search came up with nothing.

 

Forest nude

All the info I had on this one was a year, 1932.

 

Barn door

I find this 1930s photo of a mature man in front of a barn door interesting.

 

Wrestlers

I like the pose and the action element in this wrestling photo from the 30s.

 

Year or decade

There is a disproportionate number of photos in my 1930s folder dated 1930,

and I suspect some of them may have been the decade rather than the year.

This young man lying on his back in the grass is nice to look at eithe way.

 

John Grimek

John Grimek posed early in his career for this picture by an unknown photographer.

 

Peru

This photo was made in Peru in 1931, but the men

 look more like European tourists than Peruvians.

 

Marcel Rouet

We are accustomed to seeing Marcel Rouet photographede by Arax,

but this time the photographer was one V. Henry.

 

1930

My source only had a date for this one, 1930.

 

Looks familiar

Our last 1930s model looks familiar, as in being a well-known bodybuilder.

I can't, however, recall his name, and Google Images search was no help.  Anyone?

 

Von Gloeden Day

Today I'm posting a group of photos by Von Gloeden that have come into my collection recently.

For some reason, lots of his work has been showing up on line, both on resale sites 

and in museum collections.  We start with a young man in a garden area.

 

Fine composition

It's far to easy and simplistic to look at Von Gloeden's work as only erotic.  The setting, the positioning of the model, and the geometry of the cracks really make this photo something more.

 

Man and dog

The dog is looking straight at the camera while the man is walking away.

If this wasn't a lucky accident, it had to be hard to set up.

 

Unusual pose

I like the unusual pose and the model's expression in this one.

 

Basking

Although the model appears to be napping, I'm not sure that position would work well for it.

Perhaps he was just basking in the sun with his eyes closed.

 

Popular model

This model appeared multiple times in Von Gloeden's work, and it's easy to see why.

 

Nicely framed

I like the way the vegetation frames the model in this one.

 

Faded glory

I get the feeling that this image may have faded over time,

but it still has some great lighting effects.

 

Mixed result

A combination of original techincal shortcomings and later damage make the image 

quality here less than ideal, but I find the composition to be quite good.

 

That look

That look tells us that our final Von Gloeden model of the series knew had had something.

 

American Military Men Showering Together

Today we will look at some American military men showering together, starting with a group that may be officers, based on the number of older looking types.  Dee Exx and an anonymous contributor sent me some other photos from this session, but I managed to find this one on my own.

 

World War I

Showers may have been a new concept for a lot of these Worls War I American recruits.

 

Korea

Carl Mydans took this one in Korea, and it is one of the first photos 

of a racially integrated U.S. Army unit enjoying a shower together.

 

Chubby under a barrel

If I haven't posted this one before, I should have.  The happy chub enjoying 

a makeshift shower on Midway was photographed by Joe Scherschel.

No need to thank me, Leroy.  I loved putting this one on.

 

Color North Africa

I have a whole series of color photos from this session which my notes attribute to Eliot Elisofon.  They must have been taken in rapid successiion because they are only slightly different.  I'm not as certain about the attribution, though, but the following image in this series is well documented.

 

Gafsa

Eliot Elisofon took this impressive shot during a very memorable photo session 

at the Roman baths  near Gafsa, Tunisia in 1943.  I find it quite remarkable.

 

Adak

LIFE photographer Dmitri Kessel took this on the island of Adak in the Aleutians in 1943.

 

Artillery

Corporal Beefybottom used an artillery piece to hang his portable shower from.

I have a hunch this is a Vietnam era photo, but have no documentation.

 

Americans 1918

This 1918 Signal Corps photo was said by my source to be U.S. troops in France using 

what would have been a new concept, a portable shower unit.

 

1943

Our last soldier in the shower was photographed by Jack Wilkes in 1943.

The soldier standing by seems to be enjoying the view.