Posts in the Photography category

John Willie’s Doree

John Willie | Photography
August 18, 2011

The best book of John Willie photographs was published in Paris in 1985: Plusieurs Possibilitieés: Les Photographies de John Willie. When I first looked through it a group of photographs struck me immediately, partially because of the angularity of the poses, partially because of the model’s appearance.

That model was John Willie’s Doree and the photographs that were shown were taken in late 1958 or early 1959 in Los Angeles in Willie’s house in West Hollywood. I believe Doree was a secretary at an aircraft factory who also worked for Willie in the evenings helping out with his photography sales. She appeared in a group of sets at that time and then appeared in more sets starting later in 1959, this time partially nude. These later sets were Doree (B).

After the cut I’m posting some of these early Doree photos that I have that I still find captivating.

The following photograph is from a different set but shot at the same time. It incorporates the unbound woman theme that first appeared in Willie’s 1930s Australian photographs.

John Willie in 1959

John Willie | Photography
July 16, 2011

I have some Willie LA photos I hope to begin posting soon. These will all be before mid-1959 when Willie began incorporating nudity in his photography. The photo here is the first of twenty belonging to the June and Pat set produced in mid-1959. The seated model is Pat and this is her first instance in the model sets he produced in LA. The standing model is June and this set is the last time she appears. Willie made lingerie bondage sets using her as a model in 1958.

Just a picture this time. When I get a chance I’ll be scanning 1930s Willie bondage and fetish photos I have. More soon.

A Few Klaw Photos

Irving Klaw | Photography
July 2, 2011

There’s no time at the present to really discuss Irving Klaw’s output, so I’ll just present a few photos with minimal commentary. Note that all the photos (unless indicated otherwise) are ones I own or have owned. The past year I’ve sold a number of Klaw prints, including some of these.

Klaw is known best for his Bettie Page bondage photos but his output was much more varied. This is an example from his FI series (Female Impersonator) started around 1950. This photo is from the mid-1950s. The guys in these photos always look like they’re having a great time.

Klaw also sold a large number of pinup photographs, including photographs of burlesque strippers doing their routines. Each Klaw photo had an individual identifying number. Other producers at the same time (such as Burmel) produced sets with all the photos in the same set having the same number.

Klaw had his own photographers producing work, purchased photographs from amateur bondage artists and also bought rights to reproduce pinup photos. The X and Y series of photos (almost 1,000 photos in each series) are made up of these photos, shot by various people in the 1940s. Pinup prints sold for 15 cents each, bondage photos sold for 40 cents each in the early 1950s.

Comparing these photos with the Guyette photos from the earlier post, you’ll notice that Klaw’s photos hardly ever show cropping of the image like as seen in the Guyette photos. The Guyette photos generally are better, though the prints are on cheaper paper and are heavily toned. To me, Guyette photos often show a more modern sensibility.

Heavy cropping of images was also seen in the 1930s French Diana Slip photos of lingerie, where only the torso is shown generally. Brassai worked for Slip.