Estonian Photos - Part 46

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.

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 visible on most of the subjects in today's post as in some previous posts.  Perhaps the photos in today's post were taken in the winter, when farmers would not be spending as much time outside getting tanned.

Note: I don't know why #202 was photographed by himself instead of in a pair like the other photos.

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 77

 Jump

Jump was a 1984 hit by Van Halen.  My slightly abbreviated version of the song features a lot of jumping.

Vintage Military - Part 100

 World War I POWs

Our first photo shows prisoners of war in the German Kasan barracks during the German occupation of Bialystock, Poland in World War I.  They are being deloused, which was done to prevent the spread of typhus.

These are poilus (French soldiers) in a German POW camp in WWI.

French prisoners of war showering in a German POW camp near Berlin in March, 1915.

Russian POWs being disinfected in a German POW camp in 1916.

This intriguing photo was taken in Austria in 1917 and labeled "Acromegaly in a Montenegrin POW".  Acromegaly is abnormal growth caused by the body making too much growth hormone.

We end with a photo from 1919, after World War I ended, showing French and English POWs who came back from Germany being disinfected in Holland.

World Naked Gardening Day 2026

World Naked Gardening Day

Today, the first Saturday in May, is World Naked Gardening Day.  Above, my blog follower Rex Dogg sent this photo of himself on World Naked Gardening Day 2024.

And here's Rex Dogg on World Naked Gardening Day 2025.

World Naked Gardening Day really is celebrated around the world.  Here's Andy hoeing a friend's garden in Italy in 2022.

Mikael raking in Denmark.

Mr. Plant Geek, Michael Perry, in England in 2019.

S. F. Naked Guy dallying among the dahlias in San Francisco.

Isarbear with a watering can in Munich, Germany.

Jerome Taid with a watering can in France.

We end with a view of Mikael's end as he harvests blackcurrants in Denmark.

Lei Day 2026

Lei Day

Today is May Day, but in Hawaii, where I live, it is also Lei Day. celebrating the lei, or Hawaiian flower necklace.  Today we will look at a guy in the World Naked Bike Ride in Brighton, England in 2018 who wore a lei and not much else.  His lei is made of plastic flowers, not real ones, but I'll excuse him.

At some point he went into the Victoria Fountain in the Old Steine Gardens.

Here he is in the fountain.

Climbing out of the fountain

Dancing with other WNBR participants.

More dancing.

We end with a view of him wearing his lei above the crowd.

Olympics - Part 19

 1924 Winter Olympics, Chamonix
George Mallory

The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in January and February, 1924.  A gold medal in alpinism was awarded to the members of the team that had attempted to climb Mt. Everest in 1922, though the team was unsuccessful in reaching the summit.  One of the members of that team was George Mallory (1886-1924).

Above, one of a series of photos of Mallory by Vanessa Bell in 1912, long before his Everest attempt.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Above: a painting of George Mallory by Duncan Grant, 1913.

We end with a photo of three members of the 1922 Everest expedition.  From left: Howard Somervell, Arthur Wakefield, and George Mallory.  Are you starting to get the idea that Mallory liked to be naked?

In 1924, after the Winter Olympics, Mallory was on the British team that attempted Everest again.  George Mallory and Andrew Irvine died attempting to reach the summit.  They were last seen about 800 feet below the summit, and then they disappeared and never returned to camp.  To this day there is debate about whether they might have reached the summit before their demise.  In other words, could George Mallory have been the first man to reach the summit of Everest?  We will never know.  

Mallory's body was finally found on Everest in 1999.  Supposedly Mallory had been carrying a photo of his wife Ruth that he intended to leave on the summit of Everest, and the photo was not found on his body.  Does that mean that he left it on the summit?  Maybe, but it's not proof that he was there.

The first verified climbers to reach the summit of Mt. Everest were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

Performers - Part 85

Jesse Rutherford

Jesse Rutherford, born in 1991, is an American singer, songwriter and former actor.  He is the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band The Neighborhood.  This photo was taken early in his career, before he was covered with tattoos.

A rear view with only one tattoo.

A later shot, with his chest and arms covered with tattoos.

A butt shot.

We end with a video clip of him pissing, which he obviously arranged and approved.