<< John Garon (1915)
The men in Strong Man are the best of the old-school best, culled from hundreds of pictures from around the world. Not necessarily representative of every nation, but nevertheless a delicious cultural and racial smorgasbord. Virtually all of the photographs are of European men, primarily from the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Russia, but also from Italy, France, Belgium and Czechoslovakia. There are a couple of pictures, no more than two or three, of African-American bodybuilders as well.
The collection does include quite a nice action silver print of a relay race, pennants fluttering in the brisk breeze, from the 1913 California State Prison Games taken at the notorious Folsom Prison. A menacing-looking gun turret in the background is a grim reminder that those convicts better not run too fast, or too far! It is surprising that the Prison Games were integrated. We see whites and blacks competing apparently as equals in the sprint.
It's a shame (and a loss) that there are so many anonymous and un-attributed pictures regarding national origin, model's name, photographer and time frame. But just having the pictures is a reward in itself.
Most of the pictures (and most of my favorites) are deliberately posed muscleman compositions made for use as penny postcards. Several of these postcard-style photos from the Gay '90s feature Eugene Sandow, the Arnold Schwarzenegger of his era.
(Harry Wexler)
(1890)A good minority of the pictures are action snapshots taken at the beach, or at some other informal setting such as a park, gymnasium, or backyard. Virtually all of the photos are in black and white, except for two or three that are hand-tinted (and none too subtly!), and two, or three more that are in actual glorious living color.
Mickey Hargitay
My absolute favorite strong man is the exquisite Luigi Borra on page 44, described as a wrestler and strongman in a professional photograph -- taken in 1894. The photo is so clear and crisp that your thirsty eyes can absorb every subtle nuance of his precious skin and firm body, from his tiny well-knotted belly button on up. His thick, upturned moustache (like that of contemporary Italian King Vittorio Emmanuel) is the only clue that his is a beauty preserved from another time and place.The only regret I have concerning luscious Luigi is that we have but a sole photo of him to savor. Yet the lone print confers upon him eternal youth and immortality.
Although they might have been celebrities in another day, virtually all of the subjects in Strong Man are unknown to us today.The only exception might be Steve Reeves, immortalized as Hercules in several post-war Italian movies, movies hurriedly dubbed into a dozen languages where the lips ove out-of-sync with the mouths.
Taken a few years before he hit the silver screen (about the time he first won the Mr. America title), the photo of Reeves (page 84), his dark wavy hair serving as his crown, is particularly enticing. His face still had a boyish charm at this point, but his body was already fully developed, especially his massive torso and incredible arms.
Steve Reeves
There's nothing in the least bit offensive about Strong Man. You could show it with confidence to your mom. There are a few completely nude men, but most of them are wearing swimming trunks, posing straps or even an actual fig leaf! Some wear laced up sandals, perhaps evoking the ancient Olympic ideal.
Of course, these photos are from the pre-enhancement era. None of their muscle is the result of steroids, nor implants. These men earned their muscles the old-fashioned way, through hard work, sweat and, yes, some tears as well.
These vintage photos beg to be presented in poster size. I asked the publisher if they could make posters available and was told that the original pictures were too small to enlarge. However, I was able to enlarge my darling Luigi on my own, and the results were superb.
About the only ancillary product available is a post card version of Strong Man, which runs from about $10, to $25 on several websites. I saw neither the illustrated book version, nor the post card format available on the publisher's website. But that's not to say these might be in their catalogue again at some future point. Strong Man, not to be confused with the movie of the same title, is a classic, an absolute must-see for any admirer of the male physique.
Strong Man: Vintage Photos of a Masculine Icon by Robert Mainardi. 112 Pages in a hard binding. Retail price $24.95, available on Alibris.com from $18 to $75. www.counciloakbooks.com
The author may be reached by email at: ErnieAlderete@charter.net