Estonian Photos - Part 41

Estonian Photos

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

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.

Many 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.

Note: Some of these men (255 through 260) appear older than the hundreds of others photographed, and they have mustaches, which the hundreds of others do not have.  Were they military recruits?  Perhaps they were officers, not recruits, who got "volunteered" by a superior officer for the same photographic project as the recruits.

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 (mostly) 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 73

Every Breath You Take

Every Breath You Take was a 1983 hit by The Police, written and sung by Sting.  I have added visuals that match the lyrics that keep saying "I'll be watching you."

Vintage Military - Part 96

 World War I, Palestine

We think of World War I as being fought in Europe, but the conflict was wider than that.

Prior to World War I, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, governed by Turkey, which was allied with Germany in the war.  Britain was concerned that the Ottomans might take over the Suez Canal, so Britain took control of Egypt and sent forces to fight the Ottomans, which eventually involved invading Palestine.

Britain commandeered troops from countries that were its colonies and dominions at the time.  Above, troops from India in Palestine at a "bath parade", which presumably was a gathering for them to bathe.

A camel being washed in the sea at El Arish by a naked Palestinian.

Another camel being washed at Rafa by an Imperial Camel Corps naked sergeant from New Zealand.  Wouldn't want to get his uniform wet!

Naked Australian soldiers and camels at the coast.

Here are Australian soldiers salvaging a limber (part of an artillery cart) that had washed into the Jordan River after they invaded Palestine.

We end with this photo of an Australian Light Horse soldier taking an outdoor shower at Ain Duk, Palestine, near Jericho.

In 1922, after World War I, the League of Nations awarded Britain a Mandate for Palestine, giving it control over the area, which included what is now Israel.  Israel became an independent country in 1948.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 13

 Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, part 13

We continue 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 Italian cyclist and runner Gian Ferdinando Tommaselli.  I got this photo of him from Vintage Muscle Man (thanks, Jerry).

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

rear view ...

and side view.

Disclosure: I have removed yellowing from Richer's photos and brightened them.

This is Émile Torcheboeuf, a French athlete who won a bronze medal in the long jump.  He also competed in the shot put, seen above.

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

rear view ...

and side view.

Jules Treyens was a French runner who took 1st place in the 110 meter hurdles.  However, he did not win gold, because in the 1900 Olympics the competitions were divided between professional and amateur athletes, and only the amateur competitions got medals.  Treyens was on the professional side.  I could not find any photos of Treyens, so this is a photo of amateur competitor Alvin Kraenzlein in the 110 meter hurdles.

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

rear view ...

and side view.

This is Swedish runner Isaac Westergren.

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

rear view ...

and side view.

Next time: more Paul Richer Olympic athlete photos.

Performers - Part 81

Dave Navarro

Dave Navarro, born in 1967, is a rock musician.  From 1986 to 1993 he was lead guitarist for Jane's Addiction and from 1993 to 1998 he was with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Since then he has done solo work.  He is known for his tattoos.  Above, an early photo in the shower where he is relatively tattoo-free.

In 2010 he posed for this PETA ad advocating "Ink, not mink."

Another PETA ad, this one from 2013, opposing animal testing.

I don't know the occasion for this photo of him naked in a coffin.

He has posed for some pretty explicit photos, like the one above.

And this is said to be his cumshot.  It's too blurry to verify whether the tattoo matches his belly tattoo saying "Trust No One."

But in any case, here are the paper towels to clean up!

Photographers - Part 81

Arthur Schulz

Today we look at photos by German sculptor and photographer Arthur Schulz (1873-1943), above.

Schulz published a book Italienische Acte (Italian Acts), 1905.  The book contained 50 pages of high quality plates, mostly containing one nude photo per page.  The nudes are both male and female, but of course we're concentrating on the males.  The rest of this post shows photos from the book.

Page 1.  The models are not identified by name.

Page 2.  Two men in a wrestling pose.

Page 16 contained two photos: this photo of two men with a sword ...

and this photo of one of the men.

Page 21.  A man with a pole.

Page 26.  Man with a harp.

Page 29.  The same man we saw on page 1.

Page 32.  Two men with a small tree.  The image of the original page was very deteriorated.  I got this cleaned-up photo from Vintage Muscle Men.  Thanks, Jerry!

Page 35.  Man and youth with panpipes.

Page 40.  An outdoor pose.

We end with page 50, the last page, a youth atop a garden column.