The more you see the more you want to know. This is true whether you are looking into the eyes of a beautiful subject or discovering an art form for the first time. Many visitors to our site ask how they can learn more about vintage nude and erotic photography. In response we have assembled this page of links and book titles that will lead visitors to some of the best information and sources available. We have divided our sources into sections: Vintage Photography links; Muscle & Physique links; Gay & Lesbian Resource links; and Books from TASCHEN, David Leddick; David Chapman and others. Of course, knowledgeable collectors and historians visit our site as well, and we are always grateful for suggested links and titles. After all, with as much as we ourselves have seen, we too are still left wanting more.
Books
Sometimes useful books on vintage nude photography are hard to find. We are pleased to suggest and review the following books. And if you see a book you'd like to own, you can purchase the book as easily as clicking on it's cover! BigKugels Photographic is proud to be an affiliate of Barnes & Nobel who are committed to making these books available either new or used when out of stock.
by F. Valentine Hooven, III
Paperback (June1996)
TASCHEN America Llc; ISBN: 3822889393
A well-written, stylishly designed volume. Sometimes focuses on one photographer at the expense of others. Yet the stories are intriguing and well told, and the photographs are expertly documented. Chuck Renslow and Kris Studio's story is most compellingly told.
Hardcover Three-Volume Boxed Set (July 1997)
TASCHEN America Llc; ISBN: 3822881864
The compulsive collector's dream come true or worst nightmare, depending upon how many hours or days one spends pouring over the adds, texts and tiny photo reprints tracing the career of a favorite model or studio. Though an index would have been helpful (and no doubt, the size of a fourth volume) this set is essential for collectors wishing to identify their prints.
Paperback (February 1997)
TASCHEN America Llc; ISBN: 3822881627
By David Leddick
Paperback (February 1998)
TASCHEN America Llc; ISBN: 3822879665
A massive volume of well-documented and beautifully printed images by nearly every great photographer of male nudes since the camera was invented. If you know only a few studios or a single era of male nudes, this is a great way to place your favorites within their historical context. Divided by decades, their is a brief history at the beginning of each chapter. Fans of some photographers, like Rip Colt of Colt Studio, will wag a finger at Leddick for listing easily-identifiable images as "Anonymous".
by David Leddick
Hardcover (June 1997)
Universe Pub; ISBN: 0789300796
This intriguing volume treats us to a rare glimpse at the models "then & now." George Platt Lynes fans in particular will enjoy this book.
David L. Chapman
Hardcover (April 1994)
University of Illinois Press; ISBN: 0252020332
Eugen SANDOW (1867-1925) was arguably the best known and greatest bodybuilder of the late 19th Century. Throughout his extensive career, he used the developing medium of photography to market himself in cabinet cards and photographs. He was a favored model of some of the best of the 19th Century artists and body building enthusiasts. You cannot help but revel in this book by one of the foremost collectors of Sandow photographs.
David Chapman (Editor)
Paperback (1997)
Gay Men's Press; ISBN: 085449250X
"Creamy" might be the word one would use for this incredible volume of male nude and physique photographs dating from the late 1800s to the 1940s. The paper stock and printing process alone are sensuous. The images have been printed in warm tones and enameled, nearly giving them the appearance of gelatin prints. But of course, the printing quality had to match the beauty of the subject matter. These men are some of the greatest ever photographed, and David Chapman treats them with the affection and knowledge reserved for lovers and idols. Chapman's introduction alone is worth the read for the well-written history and antidotes.
by Don Whitman, David Chapman (Introduction)
Paperback (1991)
Gay Men's Press; ISBN: 0854491481
Printed beautifully and well-anotated with models' names, this volume confirms that Whitman was one of the masters of the Beefcake era. The technically flawless photography is as breathtaking as the models and the landscape. Chapman provides yet another informative and affectionate introduction.
by Fred Kovert, David Chapman (Introduction)
Paperback (1991)
Aubrey Walters; ISBN: 0854492941
Robert Mainardi (Editor), Forward by Jules Bacon, Mr. America 1943
Hardcover (2000)
Council Oak Books; ISBN: 1571781013
Would you like to feel as if you own one of the finest collections of early strongmen photographs? Then, own this book. Not only are the images well chosen and exquisitely reproduced, but also Mainardi has documented the photographers and their subjects with the details that come only from the storehouse of a true collector. His introduction is as intimate as it is informative and thoughtfully written. Mainardi's selection of images, as well as his choice of Jules Bacon to write his forward, anchors this volume far more deeply in the lexicon of physique photography than many of the books being produced today. We look forward to seeing what he has in store for us next.
from 90 of the World's Greatest Photographers
Phil Braham (Editor), Foreword by Reed Massengill
Paperback (2000)
Thunder's Mouth Press; ISBN: 1560253010
A trip through the photographers we have known and loved for the past hundred years or more, this book studies the male nude in photography from many esthetics and purposes. As the publisher's notes profess: "Every style and subject is presented, from the black and white documentary style of Michael von Grattenreid to the beautifully lit, almost pornographic 70s-style photographs of Clifford Baker or the kitsch masterpieces of Gilbert and George; and from Michael McDevitt's boxers and Tom Bianchi's glamour boys to Trish Morrisey's compelling old man." We had only wished that Braham had stepped a little further beyond the current icons in choosing the representatives of Beefcake-era photography. When including Bruce and Mizer, he might have considered such less-popularly-known but more gifted photographers as Douglas, Urban and Townsend.
Bruce Bellas
Hardcover (2000)
Janssen Verlag; ISBN: 3925443886
Edward Lucie-Smith
Hardcover (2000)
Ipso Facto; ISBN: 189326310X
The publisher's notes attest: "Internationally renowned art critic Edward Lucie-Smith has achieved a first: Flesh & Stone, a volume of gay erotic photography featuring his own work, accompanied by a text highlighting the depiction of the male nude form in classical sculpture and contemporary photography. Flesh & Stone teases the viewer into deconstructing pairs of photographs presented side-by-side: flesh or stone? Lucie-Smith captures details from well-known art masterpieces and anonymous male lovers. An important contribution to the way homosexuals see themselves expressing love, desire and emotions."
A series of coffee-table style books, these volumes are short on information. There is not even an attempt to identify models easily recognizable from a cursory spin through Physique Pictorial. Yet the photos are beautifully reproduced, and collectors might use this series to identify common props or set pieces in some of the unattributed works in their collection. But don't use these books as your only resource. Some images have been misattributed.
Bruce of Los Angeles; American Photography of the Male Nude, 1940-1970, Vol. 1
Hardcover (1998)
Janssen; ISBN: 3925443541
Lon of New York; American Photography of the Male Nude, 1940-1970, Vol. 2
Paperback (2001)
Janssen Verlag; ISBN: 3925443614
Dave Martin; American Photography of the Male Nude, 1940-1970, Vol. 3
Hardcover (2001)
Janssen Verlag; ISBN: 3925443673
Douglas of Detroit; American Photography of the Male Nude, 1940-1970, Vol. 4
Paperback (2001)
Janssen Verlag; ISBN: 3925443770
Pat Milo; American Photography of the Male Nude, 1940-1970, Vol. 5
Hardcover (2001)
Janssen Verlag; ISBN: 3925443851
Al Urban; American Photography of the Male Nude, 1940-1970, Vol. 6
Paperback (2002)
Janssen Verlag; ISBN: 0958431485
