Estonian Photos - Part 48

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).

Most of the photos show a front view, rear view, and side view of two men.  There was no explanation for why #181 was photographed alone, and why his rear view is missing.

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.

One other question that perennially arises from these photos is: why were the men photographed in pairs?  Was it to save film?

Note: there was no explanation for why #190 was photographed alone, not in a pair.

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 79

 Money (The Beatles)

Money (That's What I Want) was written in 1959 by Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford.  It has been covered by many singers, but the best known recording of it was made by the Beatles in 1963, which is the soundtrack here.  Tired of hearing love songs?  This is the classic alternative:

    Your lovin' gives me a thrill

    Your lovin' don't pay my bills

    Now give me money (that's what I want)

The images that I used, although X-rated, are actually rather compatible with the message of the song.

Vintage Military - Part 102

 Korean War, August 1950

The Korean War started in June, 1950, when the North Korean army, equipped and trained by Russia, invaded South Korea and quickly captured Seoul (the capital) and most of the country.  The U.N. called on member nations to repel the invasion.  President Truman ordered U.S. forces to aid South Korea.

Above we see U.S troops in Korea taking an outdoor shower.  These photos were taken by LIFE photographer Carl Mydans in August, 1950.

LIFE did not publish photos showing male frontal nudity.  The photo above, showing only rear nudity, could have been published, but to the best of my knowledge, none of these photos made it into the magazine.  They are all in the LIFE photo archive.

Another photo showing a bit of frontal nudity ...

and another.

In September, 1950, U.N. forces (mainly American) recaptured Seoul and most of South Korea, and in October they invaded North Korea, but then the Communist Chinese army entered the war on the side of North Korea, and the war dragged on until July, 1953.  The war ended leaving North and South Korea much the same as before the war, except for minor changes to the border.  Meanwhile, the war caused 1 million military deaths and an estimated 1.5 to 3 million civilian deaths.

Olympics - Part 21

Raymond van der Biezen

Raymond van der Biezen, born in 1987, is a Dutch BMX (Bicycle Motocross) racer.  He competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.  Above, van der Biezen riding in the 2012 Olympics in London.

He has been photographed by Ewoud Broeksma, the iconic Dutch photographer of naked athletes.  Above, van der Biezen climbing onto a platform ...

on which he holds his bike.

Here's a front view of him ...

and a rear view.

Performers - Part 87

 Zachary Stains in
Ercole su'l Termodonte

Vivaldi wrote the opera Ercole su'l Termodonte (Hercules on Thermodon) in 1723.  It's about one of the labors of Hercules in which he has to fight a tribe of Amazon women.  The opera was revived in 2006 at the Spoleto Festival in Italy.  See the opening of the opera above.

The music is rather repetitious (there's a reason this opera hadn't been revived in almost 300 years), but keep watching, because after around 20 seconds, Hercules appears, played by American tenor Zachary Stains wearing the legendary lion skin of the lion that Hercules killed, and almost nothing else.

The set, featuring large marble broken phalluses, has been called the gayest thing ever.

Hercules' lion skin does not cover his nudity, and Stains does not try to hide it.

In fact, later, he doffs the lion skin entirely for a while.

Here's the aria in which he gets completely naked.  Before that, we see him kissing another guy.  What's up with that?  The other guy is his male companion Theseus, whose part was written for a female voice but originally played in 1723 by a castrato (a castrated male singer with a high voice) because a papal edict forbade women to sing in Rome.  In the 2006 revival, Theseus was played by a woman in a male costume.

It's interesting that the Church viewed the idea of a woman singing as so awful that it needed to be banned, but the Church had no problem with the idea of castrating a boy to preserve his high voice.

In any case, Hercules kisses Theseus, which seems rather gay, and then proceeds to take off what little clothes he has on.  Enjoy.

Photographers - Part 87

Dave Martin

Dave Martin (1923-2014) was one of the most important photographers of the male nude.  Born in Pennsylvania, he moved to the West Coast after World War II, taught himself photography, and began photographing male nudes in the late 1940s.  He had a studio in San Francisco from 1952 to 1974.  His favorite models were college athletes and military men. 

He produced hundreds of photos of nude men.  Today we are going to look at a few taken at one of his favorite locations, Baker Beach in San Francisco, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.  This is Paul Dixon.

A second photo of Paul Dixon.

And a third photo of Paul Dixon.  I got this photo and the following photos from Vintage Muscle Men, which over the years has featured some 400 photos by Dave Martin.  Thanks, Jerry!

This is Roy Lang at the iconic Baker Beach location.

A second photo of Roy Lang.

And a third.  You can barely see the bridge in the background.

We end with a rear view.  The model was not identified, but it may be Roy Lang.

Calendars - Part 88

Geoff Smith Foundation

The Geoff Smith foundation is a British foundation that helps people with multiple sclerosis.  In October, 2008, they gathered a group of members to create a nude fundraising calendar.  Like most of these British nude calendars, they did not show frontal views.  Unlike calendars made by university teams, showing athletic hunks, these guys were considerably less hunky.  They gathered for a photoshoot at the Hampshire Golf Course.

Not a college hunk, but not completely ugly.

Same here.

Perhaps a bit chunky.

Old, but otherwise rather fit-looking.

And we end with my favorite.  The cheeky calendar became a surprise hit, with 300 calendars selling out almost immediately for £10 each.