Posts in the Photography category

Studio Manasse

European Creators | Photography
April 20, 2012

This is a partial repost of one of the Feral Rabbit “Objectification of Women” posts.

Europe in the 1930s was in a headlong rush — the Nazis were closing down fetish and porn networks while the French churned out erotica intended for an international audience.

Erotica until the war in Europe took many forms — ethnic beauties on postcards or stereoviews, tasteful nudes by Mandel, more edgy photos by Wyndham, and fetish/bondage classics by Eva Richards, Beiderer Studio and Diana Slip.

Photographers in Europe between the wars were strongly influenced by, and sometimes were participants in, artistic movements such as surrealism or political cabaret. The output of Studio Manasse shows these influences — the work of other photographers, surrealism and performance. To me the quality of Studio Manasse is variable and while some photographs are in my opinion amongst the best of the 1930s, other photographs are downright hokey.

Photographers like the Wlassics, who operated Studio Manasse in Vienna, made their living by selling images to publications and collectors. Studio Manasse photos are reproduced in 1930s French and US magazines such as Beautes Volupté and the Spicy pulps.

These photographs are from Divas and Lovers: The Erotic Art of Studio Manasse; Story by D. H. Lawrence; Essay by Monika Faber (New York: Universe Publishing, 1998). The first photograph’s model has one of the many faces of Kelsey.

 

John Willie’s Pat

John Willie | Photography
January 23, 2012

Of all of Willie’s models, the most is known about the woman he called Pat. She appears, with variant spellings of the last name, in a number of men’s magazines and two films.

An article in Glamour Girls (number 10) about Pat Conley gives a few details about her life. She was born in 1937 or 1939 in Oklahoma and settled in LA in the mid-1950s. She appeared in men’s magazines from 1957 to the early 1960s, of which the article provides a partial list and illustrations.

I believe Willie began using Pat in the middle of 1959, first for at set of photos where she and June appeared together and then shortly after for his best story set, The Stolen Date (second version), whose first photo is above. Pat is to the left, holding the phone, and Jill, Doree’s sister, is to the right. Pat appears alone in seven sets of bondage photos shot in 1960. She was also used for a private shoot by Willie (shot at a Beverly Hills mansion’s poolside) and another private shoot by one of Willie’s visiting New York City friends. It’s possible that Willie used Pat for A Lesson in Riding story set shot in 1958, but I don’t have any originals for comparison.

Getty Images online has photographs of her by Michael Ochs.

I have a UPI press photo shot in 1957 (shown above) for a LA School for Strippers story. Pat is the model in the bikini. Here is UPI’s copy attached to the print.

Hollywood’s School for Strippers (10/11/57)

Hollywood, Calif.: An advanced study in the fine arts of the bump, grind and tassel-twirling has been opened here in Hollywood to supply what faculty member Jean Smyle, professionally known as “Venus, the Body,” terms a more refined type of striptease for the country’s burlesque theaters. The school offers a 15-week course for $150 with an enrollment limited to 25 girls. The curriculum includes such subjects as removal of inhibitions, posturing and posing, exotic technique and walking with a wiggle. Jean said that she objects to bumps and grinds, but that most audiences are outraged if they’re not forthcoming.

Daurene Dare illustrates the technique of starting a strip routine by removing a simple non-revealing item such as a glove. The attentive pupil is Pat Conley.

The magazine that Pat appears in earliest, that I have, is Bold, August 1957, where she is on the cover and inside. Bold was a digest sized magazine.

Pat also starred (as Pat Conelle) in the nudist movie The Naked Venus which is available on DVD. The 1958 film was directed by Edgar Ulmer (who made Detour). In the film Pat’s hair is dyed blonde (her natural hair color was dark red).

Guyette’s Corset Photos

Charles Guyette | Photography
January 1, 2012

Charles Guyette’s broad range of photographs included women in corsets. Other fetish elements, such as boots or high heeled shoes, are found in these 1930s (to early 1940s) photos. In spite of the large number of photos produced, originals aren’t easy to come by. These are reprints made by Irving Klaw in the 1950s. Klaw’s reprints have images that are either cropped or reduced — Guyette’s print size was larger than Klaw’s 4×5 inch.

There are 5 Klaw reprints here, two before the cut, three after. Enjoy!

John Willie’s 1930s Photographs

Irving Klaw | John Willie | Photography
December 4, 2011

In the 1930s John Willie was living in Australia with his second wife, Holly. He began, heavily influenced by the local fetish culture and London Life magazine, to create art and photographs using fetish themes focused around dress (usually, but not always solely high heeled shoes/boots) or bondage.

I have 300+ Willie photos and of those only 5% are these early 1930s images. The ones I have are 1940s/50s reprints by Irving Klaw. Some 1930s photos were used as illustrations in Willie’s Bizarre magazine published in the US after he moved here in 1946.

Here’s a damaged photo of Holly trying out a pair of boots.

Here are three bondage photos. The first two show the highly formal style that is found in his art and photographs created in this period. The third photo shows an early example of the theme of immobility that was so important in his later work. Holly is the dark-haired model in the first two photos.

John Willie’s June

John Willie | Photography
September 24, 2011

June was the first model John Willie used for his lingerie bondage sets. There were other models photographed previously after his move to Los Angeles, but it wasn’t until the June sets in 1958 that Willie organized his photographs around models and poses.

June was originally from Texas and in his letters, Willie refers to her as Beverly. There were 6 sets of 8 photos each created in 1958 and June appeared one more time, in the Pat and June set created in mid-1959. June was one of the three blonde models appearing in Willie’s LA photos.

This photo is from set number 6.