Estonian Photos - Part 49

Estonian Photos

We continue our series of photos from the Tartu Ülikooli museum of anthropology in Estonia.

I am presenting the photos in reverse chronological order; that is, the higher-numbered ones first.  Each post has photos earlier in the sequence.  Most of the later photos show a front view, rear view, and side view of two men.  At this earlier point in the sequence, they were only photographing a front view and a side view of a single man (sorry, Rick, no rear views).

For those who haven't seen my previous posts in this series, a few words of explanation.  The museum provides no information about the men, other than the photos came from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu.  In particular, it does not say who these men are, or when or why the photos were taken.  However, the photos are labeled "Füüsilise antropoloogia pildistus" (physical anthropology photography).

Who are these men?  My best guess is that they are military recruits.  The very short haircuts suggest that these photos were taken during or shortly after the enlistment process.

When were the photos taken?  My best guess is between World War I and World War II, when Estonia was an independent country with its own military.  Before WWI, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire, and after WWII, Estonia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

A clue to the time frame is that these photographs were made on glass plates, not film. 

Dry glass-plate photography started in 1871 and began to fall out of use in the 1920s.  I found some references to it in Estonia through the 1930s.

One other clue to the time frame of these photos is that in two previous batches, one of the men is wearing a wristwatch.   Wristwatches were considered to be for ladies before World War I.  (Men used pocket watches.)  However, during the war, wristwatches proved very useful for soldiers and pilots.  After WWI, wristwatches came into fashion for men.

Although wristwatches were evidently rare in Estonia (only two men wore a wristwatch among the hundreds that were photographed), it suggests that these photos are post-World War I.

Since the use of glass plates fell out of use in the 1920s, I think the photos were most likely taken shortly after World War I.

Some of the men in this series have darker faces and hands.  Are they tanned from working outside like farmers, or are they dirty from some dirty occupation?  We don't know.

Note: the dark faces and hands are not visible on most of the subjects in today's post.  Perhaps the photos in today's post were taken in the winter, when farmers would not be spending as much time outside getting tanned.

Although these appear to be military recruits, these are probably not military photos.  We know that the museum that currently has the photos got them from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu.  If these are military photos, why would they end up at the Institute of Anatomy?

I believe the photos were taken by academics doing a study of physical anthropology.

Scientists at the Institute of Anatomy were trying to measure what they considered racial characteristics of the population by measuring the body, including phrenology (measuring the skull), ideas which are now discredited.

I think that the scientists at the Institute of Anatomy may have persuaded the military to let them take photographs of the naked new recruits for "research" purposes. 

I have no written evidence to support this idea, but since the photos were at the Institute of Anatomy, and the photo subjects appear to be military recruits, it's now my best guess as to what happened.

Later photos in this series each contain a pair of men.  A question that perennially arose: why were the men photographed in pairs?  Was it to save film?

The answer is that these photos were made on glass plates, not film, but glass plates were more expensive and involved more labor than film, so yes, it's likely that the men were photographed in pairs to save on glass plates.

But these earlier photos are of individual men.  The idea of photographing the men in pairs to save on glass plates must have occurred to someone later in the project, after these photos were taken.

So, bottom line: My best guess is that these photos were taken after World War I, the subjects are new or recent Army recruits, and the Estonian military allowed scientists from the Institute of Anatomy to take photos of the naked recruits for a study of physical anthropology.

4th of July 2026

 4th of July

Today is the 250th birthday of the United States of America – an occasion to celebrate.  On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, in which the 13 colonies declared themselves to be "free and independent States", was approved by the Continental Congress and signed.

Today we're going to look at some of the Founding Fathers.  The Declaration of Independence was largely written by Thomas Jefferson.  Above is a painting called Self Portrait, Sally Hemings by Marisa Williamson, 2013, depicting Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings.  If we're going to delve into our history, we have to acknowledge the bad parts, like slavery, as well as the good parts that we celebrate.

Benjamin Franklin also wrote part of the Declaration of Independence (he is responsible for the line "we hold these truths to be self-evident").  Although we have no nude portraits of Franklin, his writings reveal that he was actually somewhat of a nudist (above).

Before the Revolution he traveled to London to represent the colonies, and he enjoyed swimming naked in the Thames, in public.

And here's Benjamin Franklin riding in the World Naked Bike Ride in 2018 in Philadelphia.  Well, maybe he would have, if he were alive in 2018.  Since he wasn't, I added him in Photoshop.  This scene was photographed on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, so perhaps Franklin was there in spirit.

George Washington was not present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.  He was in New York, commanding the Continental Army.  But Washington is the only one of the Founding Fathers who was depicted nude in a historic artwork, above.  This is a nude plaster model of Washington by Italian artist Antonio Canova, for a sculpture commissioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1816.

The finished sculpture, which has since been destroyed, depicted Washington as a clothed Roman statesman, with a Roman-style haircut instead of Washington's longer hair that we're familiar with.  It was not uncommon in those days for a sculptor to first make a nude model of the subject as a study of form and muscle.  Unfortunately, this is not a realistic depiction of Washington.  It's a work of Canova's imagination, because in 1816, Washington had been dead for 16 years.

Anyway, today is our country's 250th birthday.  Let's celebrate!

Not the Same Old Song - Part 80

 Teddy Bears Picnic

The melody for Teddy Bears Picnic was composed in 1907 by John Walter Bratton.  In 1932, lyrics were added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy, and the song was recorded by Henry Hall and the BBC Orchestra, sung by Val Rosing.  It has subsequently been recorded by multiple other artists, but I used the 1932 recording, after adding some pictures and video clips of our favorite kind of bears.

Vintage Military - Part 103

 Gallipoli Campaign
World War I

The Gallipoli Campaign was a British military campaign in 1915 and 1916 to try to make Turkey capitulate.  Turkey was allied with Germany.  The plan was to seize control of the Dardanelles strait, one of the narrow straits that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, which would cut off the Turkish capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul).

Gallipoli is a peninsula on the north side of the Dardanelles.  In April, 1915, the British ANZAC unit (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) landed at a place near Gallipoli that became known as ANZAC cove.  Above, soldiers at ANZAC cove after the landing.

Soldiers bathing at ANZAC cove beach in 1915.  They felt no need to wear bathing suits since there were no women present.

More soldiers bathing in 1915 south of X beach, near the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula.

May 22, 1915.  Above, a blindfolded Turkish officer arrives behind Allied lines to request an armistice for the burial of 3000 Turkish soldiers.  The photo is damaged so we can't see the Turkish officer, but we can see the naked Australian soldiers who carried him in.

ANZAC forces included cavalry.  Above are some of the cavalry soldiers taking their horses into the sea.  No point in wearing uniforms that would just get wet.

We end with a scene from the 2015 Australian TV mini-series Deadline Gallipoli.  In this scene, ANZAC soldiers are bathing in the sea, naked as usual, when a dead body washes ashore.

In January 1916, the British invasion force was withdrawn, having failed to capture the Gallipoli  peninsula.  This was a victory for Turkey.  All of this happened before the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917.

Bodybuilders - Part 40

Canada Day
Billy Hill

Today is Canada Day, and to celebrate it, we present Mr. Canada 1954, Billy Hill (1928-1978).  Above, a clip from a 1950s silent gay beefcake posing film that was introduced as "The Young Physique presents Billy Hill and Friends in Duals".  Billy was gay, and his appeal to gay men in the pre-Stonewall era was mostly through magazine spreads and black-and-white glossies.

Billy was from Montreal, and he won the Mr. Montreal title before he became Mr. Canada.  He was a favorite model for Montreal photographer Alan B. Stone, who took all of the remaining photos.  I got several of these from Vintage Muscle Men (thanks, Jerry).

These photos are notable for the industrial setting.

Billy shows his winning smile.

Photographer Alan Stone was physically disabled with rheumatoid arthritis, and Billy actually carried Mr. Stone to some difficult-to-reach photography sites.

We end with a rear view of Billy Hill.  To all our Canadian viewers, happy Canada Day!

Olympics - Part 22

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Performers - Part 88

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a comedy team in the early 1950s, featuring singer Dean Martin and nutty comic Jerry Lewis.  They started as a nightclub act but then did some TV appearances and made a number of movies together.

Some nude photos have surfaced of them at the Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs in 1952.  Above, Dean (at left) and Jerry (next to him) in a sauna or steam room.  The man at right is Mack Gray, Dean's assistant and close friend.

The rest of the photos were taken in a shower room.  Here are Jerry and Dean, semi-modest.

Here they are with Dean not modest at all, aside from someone's inept attempt to censor the photo.

Finally, Dean and Jerry, with Dean again totally exposed.  Although it looks like Jerry is jerking off, he's probably holding his hand like that as a joke.