Strong Men . . . Again

Today we look at ten strong men (some of whom doubled as wrestlers) from the period of 1885 to 1930.  We start with an unknown who posed for Edwin Townsend in the late 1920s.

 

Flex

I have no information on this photo of an exceptionally built man.

The footwear dates it to the early 20th Century.

 

Unknown by Eisenmann

Charles Eisenmann was a late 19th Century photographer who worked in New York's Bowery district.  He was best known for photographing circus freaks and carnival acts, but fortunately 

for us, he also took the photo of an unknown strong man above in 1885.

 

Eugene Rapin

This photo of Eugene Rapin appeared in the magazine La Culture Physique.

The image was made by Albert Surier about 1904.

 

Unknown

Both the model and the photographer are unknown in this one.

I find the lighting and the pose both impressive.

 

Jaan Jaago

The fellow facing us is yet another great Estonial strong man and wrestler, Jaan Jaago.

The photo is said to have been made in Russia about 1913.

 

Charles Poire

The frilly spangled pants take nothing away from the masculinity 

of Frenchman Charles Poire.  The photo is from around 1895.

 

Hood Ornament

Henry Steinborn would have made a fine hood ornament for someone's Packard.

 

"Supermanity"

Australian Don Athaldo (real name Walter Joseph Lyons, 1894-1965) marketed his bodybuilding system in books and magazines in the 1920s.  While his personal story of being a sickly child who turned into a he-man was rather overused in his era, in Mr. Athaldo's case it was mostly true.  I love the title line in the photo caption above:  Don Athaldo -- Supermanity Personified.

 

Louis Cyr, Canadian Column Carrier

The last strong man of the set, Canadian Louis Cyr, has an expression that says,

"Yup.  That's what I do. I carry columns around."

 

Bryan B's Lon of New York Photos

Today will be the second (with more to come) series of pictures by Classic era physique photographers sent to me by Bryan B.  This time we look at the work of Alonzo Hanagan, aka Lon of New York.  Nearly all of today's models are unknown, starting with this one purported to be the subject of the very first physique photo Lon ever took.  I did some research, and the man in the photo is believed to be a summer camp counselor fresh out of the shower photographed by a teenage Lon with a Kodak box camera.  There's some history for you, folks.  

Thank you Bryan for a phenomenal contribution.

 

Different

I included this photo of an unknown model because it is different

 from much of Lon's work in terms of pose and composition.

 

Chair

The chair in this photo of an unknown model shows up in several of Lon's photos.

One very much like it was used by Edwin Townsend to photograph Tony Sansone.

I think the geometry here is exquisite.

 

Art Ullrich

Art Ullrich was one of the most prolifically photographed physique models of the classic era, having posed for Denny Denfield, Bruce of LA, and Your Model Service in addition to Lon.

Leave it to Bryan to find a shot of him I'd never seen before.

 

Heavy fellow

No one seems to know who this hefty model is.  Lon didn't photograph 

many guys who were not in top shape, so this is a double mystery.

 

Statue

The model here looks like a fine black marble statue.

Like most of today's models, I have no name.

 

Group

I'm really miffed with Google Images search because their bots refused to look up this photo due to "content guidelines."  They've been doing this more and more lately, and it feels like a form of censorship.  That's Lon Hanagan at left, but I don't know who the other men were.  My best guess is that this was made at one of the Coney Island bath houses that had a nude sunbathing area.  Lon and his models were known to hang out there and I even have a few photos made there.

 

Hairy

This posing strap photo appears on half a dozen websites, but none of them seems to have 

a name for the hairy model.  The pompadour is a bit much, but I can't fault anthing else.

 

Playful

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Donovan

Instead of the usual Classical column, we get drapes and sconces 

in this photo of a model listed only as "Donovan."

Thanks again to Bryan B for providing today's photos!

 

Beach Day

Today we go to the beach with photos ranging from slick professional to very amateur.

I place this one at the pro end of the spectrum.

 

Keith Vaughan

British artist Keith Vaughan took this photo in 1938 while 

on an excursion to Pagham Beach with a group of young men.

 

Amateur

An amateur photographer took this snapshot of a man emerging from the sea.

 

Tom Quinn

Falcon Studio took this photo of model and porn star Tom Quinn.

 

Hmmmm . . .

At first glance, I thought the piece of driftwood sticking out of the sand to the left of this guy's knee 

was a severed human foot.  I've got to stop watching so many horror movies.

 

Not Germans

Imagine my surprise when my research revealed that these were not Germans,

but Boston men enjoying the beach near the L Street Bath House.

 

Two extremes

We get opposite ends of the dressing spectrum in this photo.

 

Baskers

Basking in the sun is fun, but bad for the skin without sunscreen.

 

1970s

This is from a 1970s nudist magazine.

 

Breeze

This fellow looks like he may be enjoying the sea breeze.

 

Quartet

Here we have an attractive quartet.

 

Tom Wayne

I just did a search and learned that this photo for which I 

previously had no information is Tom Wayne by Bruce of LA.