Colt in Black and White

Today's photos are all by Colt and all in black and white.

We start with the first of three unknowns (to me) in the set.

 

Rick Wolfmier

In the first of three front and back Colt twofers,

we have Rick Wolfmier in an outdoor settilng.

 

John Archer

My source said this photo of John Archer is from the 1970s.

 

Unknown II

Two different vintage resale websites have this photo on offer,

but neither has a name for the familiar looking model.

 

Karl Mann

One of the things I like most about Colt photos is Jim French's

tendency to keep masculinity straight to the center of his work.

This picture of Karl Mann is a personal favorite.

 

Jerry Mansfield

Another front and back twofer features Jerry Mansfield.

 

Bob Birdsong

I like the angle of approach Jim French took with this photo of Bob Birdsong.

 

Greg Spaulding

Here we have Greg Spaulding, front and back.

 

Unknown III

This is the third unknown model in today's set,

described only as "early Colt"

 

Larry Lara

Closing out the set with a special photo of Larry Lara, the lover of another excellent photographer, Crawford Barton.  Larry and Crawford were important figures in the emerging San Francisco 

gay community of the late 1960s and 1970s.  Jim French did an amazing group of photos 

of Larry,and I plan to post an entire set of them.  Sadly, both Larry 

and Crawford died of AIDS in the early 1990s.

 

Hunks in Trunks II, Part 1 - The Known

Today we have a second Hunks in Trunks series, and it's a two parter.  First we will have some pictures where both the subject and photographer are know.  Later, we will have those with less info.

We start with Seymour Koenig as photographed by Bob Mizer of AMG.

 

Larry Scott by Pat Milo

It's said that Pat Milo had a not so secret crush on Larry Scott,

whom he photographed on the beach above.  Nice bulge, btw.

 

Clarence Ross by Russ Warner

Russ Warner photographed the great bodybuilder Clarence Ross, aka Clancy Ross, 

on multiple occasions, including the shot of the two of them above.  Below we see some 

of Mr. Warner's fine work on the cover of Your Physique magazine.

 

Elmo Santiago by Lon of New York

This is Elmo Santiago as photographed by Lon of New York, aka Alonzo Hanagan.

 

Johnny Bousa by Al Urban

All the while Al Urban was making and illegally distributing frontal male nudes in the 1940s and 50s, he continued to shoot work for bodybuilding magazines that did not allow nudity.  Mr. Urban went to great lengths to conceal both his clandestine career and his sexuality, even going so far as to invent a fake wife and borrow a baby girl for a photo of himself as a doting father.  This picture of Johnny Bousa is one of the better examples of Mr. Urban's "legitimate" work.

 

Bob Delmonteque Two Ways

The photo above is Bob Delmonteque taken by Doug Juleff, aka Douglas of Detroit.  After 

Mr. Delmonteque took up photography himself, he photographed Leo Robert shown below.  

Mr. Robert was Mr. Canada of 1951 and Mr. Universe of 1955, among many other titles.

 

Jean Pierre Pastiou by Arax

Here we have an Arax photo of Jean Pierre Pastiou.

 

Bob McCune by Bruce of Los Angeles

Put Bruce of LA and Bob McCune together, and what do you get?

Something approaching perfection, that's what you get.

 

Ray McGuire

This may not be one of Don Whitman's (Western Photography Guild) most artistic efforts,

but I really like the freshness of this picture of Ray McGuire.

 

Rich Potoczek by Quirk

I'm closing the first part of today's set with an item that is more of a curiosity than an art piece.  This cover photo of Rich Potoczek was taken by Edward Quirk before he started doing business as Metecue.  When liberalization hit in the late 1960s, Mr. Quirk switched to high volume full nudity and stopped using his name, if that's what it really was.  Some say it was a pseudonym to start with.

 

Hunks in Trunks II, Part 2 - Need names

Part two of Hunks in Trunks features photos where either the subject or the photographer is unknown.  We start with an unattributed photo of the always impressive John Grimek.

 

Reg Park

Reg Park of Leeds, England seems happy to be at Waikiki Beach with Diamondhead in the background.  While it is worth seeing, there are far better and less crowded beaches in Hawaii, even near Honolulu.  The photographer for this impressive photo is unknown.

 

Dave Martin

A reputable online resale website identified the photographer here as Dave Martin,

but admitted to being baffled as to who the model was.  Mr. Martin was

far better than most when it came to recording his models' names.

 

George Eiferman

I get a Bruce vibe from this photo of George Eiferman, but that's just a hunch.  I posted another photo from the same session back in May, and a viewer suggested that it might be by Denny Denfield.  I searched several large databases of Mr. Denfield's work, however, and it didn't pan out.

 

Ken McCord

This handsome guy in color is Ken McCord.  The photography 

is quite professional, but I can't find an attribution.

 

Denny Denfield

Closing the set with an unknown (to me, anyway) bodybuilder photographed by Denny Denfield.  While not unheard of, it is unusual to find work by Mr. Denfield that isn't fully nude.  There are two reasons for that.  First, he was said to have literally been able to charm the pants off potential models through the application of flattery and beer.  Second, he didn't sell his work, so he didn't have to worry about keeping a "clean" inventory to fend off the censors and cops.  The handsome fellow above looks both familiar and like he would have had a following, but I can't find a name.

 

James E. Davis Day

James E. Davis (1901-1974) is best remembered as a pioneer of experimental film making, and he was based at Princeton University for years.  As those of you who have followed this blog for some time will know, I have posted some of his male nude and semi-nude drawings in the past.  Today we have another series, starting with this stunning image of Bob Panicaro.

 

1929

This G-rated 1929 painting of sailors has a certain appeal.

I believe they are French, but please correct me if they aren't.

 

Larry Merritt Solo

I think Mr. Davis used a mill pond dam for this photo of Larry Merritt.

We'll see Mr. Merritt later in a duo picture.

 

Paul Haus and Billy

This 1972 photo features Paul Haus (left) and a guy listed only as Billy.

 

1931

This pastel of a young man in bed is from 1931.

 

Ralph Grippo

This photo of Ralph Grippo puzzles me because it along among my collection of James E. Davis photos has what appears to be a color treatment.  Or is that just the effect of time since the 1960s?

Just for grins, I've removed the orange tint below:

 

Raoul Rachou

I don't have a date for this photo of Raoul Rachou.

 

1938

By 1938 James E. Davis' pastels were taking on a more semi-abstract element.

 

Larry Merritt and Butler Coleman

I can't tell if Larry Merritt and Butler Coleman are climbing out of or into the quarry pit.

 

Paul Haus Solo

Closing the set with a solo shot of Paul Haus.  There's another guy 

on the edge the photo, but Mr. Davis set up the frame this way.

We can safely assume he wanted it to be about Paul.