Estonian Photos - Part 42

Estonian Photos

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

Note: the frontal view photo of #241 and #242 is missing.  We only have the rear and side 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.

Some of the men in this series have dark faces and hands.  Are they are 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 as visible in today's post as in some previous posts, but darker hands are visible in some of the side views.  Perhaps the photos in today's post were taken in the winter, when farmers would not be spending as much time outside getting tanned.

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.

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.

One other question that perennially arises from these photos is: 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.

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.

Not the Same Old Song - Part 74

Great Balls of Fire

Great Balls of Fire was a 1957 hit by Jerry Lee Lewis.  It sold a million copies in the first 10 days after its release, making it one of the best-selling singles of its time.  I have accompanied it with visuals showing some great balls, but probably not the ones that Jerry Lee Lewis had in mind.

Vintage Military - Part 97

World War I - Suez Canal

Last time we saw that Britain had taken over Egypt in World War I to protect the Suez Canal, then invaded Palestine.  But Palestine was a sideshow; Britain's main concern was the Suez Canal.  Today we will look at troops from Britain and its colonies and dominions that were stationed at the Suez Canal.

Above, a photo from John Trevor Peat showing New Zealand cavalry troops bathing in the canal.

Another photo from a New Zealand member of the Wellington Mounted Rifles showing troops swimming their horses in the canal.

Australian troops bathing in the canal by Thomas John Richards, 1915-1916.

Patrick Hamilton from Australia labeled this 1916 photo "water sports – the coolest place in the summer".

Kantara (now El Qantara), Egypt: bathing in the Suez Canal, photo by a soldier from Edinburgh, Scotland, 1916.

We end with another photo from our Edinburgh soldier at Kantara: skinny dipping in the Suez Canal, 1916.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 14

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, part 14

Today we conclude our series of nude photographs by Paul Richer of athletes in the 1900 Paris Olympics.  Richer was on an official Olympic commission to study the athletes.  Richer was responsible for taking nude anthropomorphic photos of the athletes, and since it was an official commission, almost all the athletes who were asked to participate did so.

We start with Danish athlete Charles Winckler, above, who competed in swimming, shot put, and discus, and was on the gold-medal-winning Danish tug-of-war team.

Here are Paul Richer's photos of Winckler, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view

French athlete Guillaume de Saint Cyr, above, competed as a runner and in shot put.  

Here are Paul Richer's photos of de Saint Cyr, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

We end with two mini-movies.  Photographer Paul Richer was a pioneer in chronophotography, the early practice of taking multiple photos of a moving subject.  The gif above was made from Richer's photos of an athlete throwing a shot underhand in 1900.  The athlete was not identified, but was probably one of the athletes in the 1900 Olympics.

And here is another gif made from Richer's photos, showing the same athlete throwing a shot overhand in 1900.

This concludes this series of Olympic photos by Paul Richer.  I hope you enjoyed them.

Performers - Part 82

 The Beatles

The Beatles were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.  Of the four, John was the most willing to be photographed nude.  Above, he posed with his girlfriend Yoko Ono for the cover of the November 23, 1968 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

Years later, he and Yoko graced the cover of Rolling Stone again on the January 22, 1981 issue.

In 1968, John and Yoko put out the album Two Virgins, with this full-frontal photo on the cover.

How could they sell the album with that naked cover?  In stores, the album was covered with brown paper with a cutout for John and Yoko's faces and the album name Two Virgins.

John was even photographed sporting an erection in this photo with Yoko.

What about the other Beatles?  I don't know if this nude photo of Paul McCartney is real or fake.

But this photo of Paul in the bathtub, taken by his wife, is real, including a peekaboo view.

There are apparently no unfaked nude photos of George or Ringo.  We end with this 1968 pop art poster of all four Beatles by Richard Bernstein.  It's art, not a photo, and it shows them all circumcised.  In actual fact, Paul was circumcised, but John certainly wasn't.  I don't know about George and Ringo.  Oh, well.

Photographers - Part 82

Louis Igout

Louis Jean-Baptiste Igout (1837-1881) was a French photographer when photography was still new.  He also founded his own publishing house, specializing in producing high-quality photographic prints.  His company became known for innovative printing techniques that allowed for greater detail and clarity.

Above is plate 38 from his book Album d'Etudes - Poses (Album of Studies - Poses),  which contained plates of photos of nude men, women and children.  We're concentrating on the men.

For more clarity online, I have cropped the images from the book and brightened them slightly.  Above is plate 38 again.  Click on any of these images for a larger version.

I came across this image online, labeled "Model for painting with rock".  It is actually not the model for a painting. It's the second image from plate 38 above.

Here are a few more plates from the book.  Above, plate 33.

Plate 37 features two models with some wrestling or fighting poses.

We end with another model on plate 41.

Louis Igout died in 1881 at the age of 44.  I do not know the cause of his death.

The blog Vintage Muscle Men has featured many photos by Igout - go to the blog and click on Igout on the list at right to see them.

Calendars - Part 83

Naked Rugby Players

The Naked Rugby Players calendar is a calendar put out by a group of British rugby teams. The 2019 calendar featured 71 naked players from six teams.  Photographer Monty McKinnen got to photograph all six teams naked.  On the cover: the Liverpool Tritons.

Like most of these British nude calendars, it raises money for charity: in this case, Balls to Cancer, an organization fighting testicular cancer.

Above, the Sheffield Vulcans rugby team.

The Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents.

The Bristol Bisons.

The Glasgow Alphas.

The Northampton Outlaws.

We end with the Liverpool Tritons bellying up to the bar.