Two Great Vintage Photos of Real Gay Interest

OK, there's absolutely no doubt. These guys are flirting with each other and they're about to kiss.

It's all very innocent as they stand in the sunshine, in the middle of a dirt road, hands behind their backs, cardigans buttoned, ties knotted. But you can feel the sexual tension.

We're certainly not looking at father and son, or a couple of affectionate brothers. These two are kissing cousins at least. Finally somebody selling photos on eBay that really merit the tag "gay interest."

The next snapshot shows 4 men making a groin-powered choo-choo train all their own. The "A" on the sweater stands for Ashville NC in case you're curious. While equally suggestive, it isn't as overtly gay. Who knows, maybe they're just a bunch of guys have fun sitting on top of each other.

To my surprise the second photo sold for $272 and the two men about to kiss sold for $48.00. I would have predicted just the opposite result. Shows you what I know....

Affectionate Men Tintype

This category of photos seems to be immune to the effects of the recession. This tintype of two men recently sold on eBay for a whopping $280.

Why so much?

There are different levels of intimacy revealed in these photos, which seems directly connected with the prices they fetch. And this one suggests a very close relationship. I'd guess, father and son.

It is, in any case, charming. The young man sits on "Dad's" lap, casually draping an arm around his shoulder. It's hard to imagine any boy over the age of 7 who would be comfortable sitting on Dad's knee like this, or any Dad willing to be this close to his son. It's just too risky now. Too bad.

On the other hand, the guys in this photo are much closer in age, which makes their display of affection more "suspect." I learned many years ago from art historian Leo Steinberg about the "slung leg motif." It was a common visual code for sexual liaison going back to the 16th c.

Now I'm not suggesting these two guys were queer, or that they were art historians. But I see in this portrait a sexual energy which makes it far more interesting as homobilia.

Portrait of a Narcotics Dealer

This wonderful photo was sold recently on eBay (for $3.99 plus shipping). I could kick myself that I didn't get it! Written on the back: "Paul Le Baron, Narcotic Seller," with a date stamp of Aug 24, 1927.

Googling Paul Le Baron didn't lead me back to 1927 but there does appear to be a cop with that name on the narcotics beat in Long Beach.

So all we know is what was written on the photo and what we see in the image: a sweet, gentle, wistful, gender-bending man sitting at a table in a bar or cafe. Did he ever see the famous portrait of Marcel Duchamp as Rose Sélavy, (c. 1920–1921)?

Of course Paul was not as stylish as Rose (though he's certainly got style) and there's no trace of make up. Unlike Duchamp who faces the camera in a direct, almost challenging expression, Paul looks off to his right which reflects shyness or wariness, or both.

Young Athlete

Handsome young athlete in a formal studio pose, wearing his letter sweater. Let me guess, Vermont? There's something compelling about the simplicity and sense of calm. And something timeless about the guy.

Although undated, it is likely from the 1920s. Check it out at homobilia.com

Bodybuilders: Vintage photos

Some terrific and rare images of classic bodybuilders in classic poses (though not exactly 200 years as the video claims (photography wasn't even invented until the 1820s). Interesting comments too... all about steroids and bench-pressing as if there is no homosexual sub-text to all of this male beauty.

MILK memorabilia

Levi Strauss & Co. denim jacket and jeans worn by Sean Penn, along with an official MILK poster, two 8x10 photos (by Biron) of Penn wearing the outfit, original prop business cards, original prop buttons, and the original prop postcard handed to Penn before his speech to the crowd: Sold on eBay on March 27 for $1,158.00. (Actor sold separately.)

Unfortunately, all items were dry cleaned before the auction (or the winning bid would certainly have been higher). In any case, the proceeds went to support the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.

One small step for NLGJA. One giant leap for homobilia.

Stowitts as The Satyr

Rare photo of Hubert Stowitts as the nearly nude satyr in Rex Ingram's silent film, The Magician (Metro, 1926). Stowitts was an athlete, dancer and artist whose extraordinary story is told by his biographer, Anne Holliday for Queer Arts Resource.

Anna Pavlova discovered Stowitts dancing at the Greek Theater in Berkeley in the summer of 1915 and invited him to join her ballet company. He became a star in his own right, appearing in London, Stockholm, Madrid and New York. In Paris Stowitts starred in the 1924 Folies-Bergère with dazzling costumes by Erté.

Few dancers have the courage to retire in their prime, especially when "trained down to racehorse shape," as Stowitts described himself. Even fewer have the courage at age 33 to launch themselves in an entirely new career as a painter (his studio was on Montmartre's Avenue de Clichy).

In 1926 Stowitts made his first film, "The Magician", for Metro Studios. With earnings from this venture he was able to underwrite an odyssey to the East where he lived and painted in Indonesia and India.

For more about Stowitts (and there's LOTS more to tell) check out The Stowitts Museum and Library

6 Men in a Bed

You gotta love this photo. OK, the six men are technically in four beds, but they've been pushed together to form a single unit. And the guys are crammed together too (except for the judgemental one with the glasses: he doesn't share).

The photo (sold recently on eBay) is from Finland which may explain why the guys look so very white. It's a great shot but what is really weird is the apparition in front of the window on the right. What the hell is that?

Army Card Game Double Exposure

This is one of the most amazing images I've seen since I started collecting homobilia. A 3 1/2" square color print dated "May 1966, Ft. McClellan Ala."

A group of guys sitting around the barracks playing cards. The composition recalls the Renaissance masters, with a mysterious floating bag of Fiesta chips at the center. Above all the action, a poster (of Fearless Leader?) "Knows, Feels, Wills, Believes." Whoa.

The subject matter is a gay fantasy.

Given the sequence of images we know that immediately after the card game these men removed their uniforms and posed for the next photo. One can only assume they were playing strip poker.

But it gets even better. A close examination of the second exposure (and you better believe I gave this photo a very close examination) reveals 9 happy GI's. Open flys in the shorts of the two most prominent men who stand at ease, smiles on their faces.

My only regret is this isn't a triple exposure.

P.S. To meet the needs of the Vietnam War, an Advanced Individual Training Infantry Brigade was activated in 1966. It was deactivated in April 1970, after training more than 30,000 men. Those were the days!

Man Debriefing

This anonymous physique photo blurs the line between professional and amateur. The lighting suggests that it was shot by a pro, but it could have been taken in somebody's living room, with drapes in the background and the striped towel laid on the floor.

The model is absorbed in thought. Is he pulling his shorts on, or off? Is that sweat, or has his lithe body been lightly oiled?

A very sexy image, what with the hint of chest hair and pubic hair, those big muscular legs and the outline of his basket. Works for me.

Ready, Aim, Play Dead

How this soldier managed to get his uniform off without removing his belt and boots is a mystery. Guess it is one of those things they teach you in boot camp.









Here you can plainly see his big holster. Big holster, big gun.











And here we have the enemy clad only in a black leather jacket and bicycle chains. This is what they teach you in Camp camp.

This unusual set of vintage male nudes is from the early 60s. See more at homobilia.com

Russian Strongman

Very cool photo circa 1909-13, from an album of 63 real photo postcards.

It isn't all that unusual. A male nude, seen from the side/rear. This was a time and place before posing straps were thought necessary.

However, this guy is either on his way to rob a bank or very concerned about protecting his anonymity. Or maybe he's just into some kinky scenes. Love the striped socks too.

Any way you look at it, it's hot.

By the way, the album sold at auction recently for $3,200 plus a 22.5% buyers premium. Good homobilia doesn't come cheap!

Rub-a-Dub

What we have here is the intersection of physique photography, peep show, innocent male bonding and a Navy instructional manual.

It clearly seems authentic... this is no photo studio, the sailors seem real too. But what the hell are they doing and why are they smiling so broadly?

Numaderm provides some answers: "If you have trouble with dry itchy skin, call in the salt brigade. When you finish your bath or shower, spend a few minutes rubbing salt into your skin. The rubbing actually helps improve circulation which is always good but the friction from the salt particles will remove dead skin..."

Apparently it's a lot more fun to have a buddy in your "salt brigade" who can do the rubbing for you. Only one problem with this theory... there's no sign of water anywhere. I guess this is a dry rub.

For those of you wanting to try it at home, Origins sells their "Let's Circulate" salt rub soap for only $13.50 (sailor buddy not included).

The Posing Strap: Vintage Muscle Men Video

Really enjoyed this video tribute to the posing strap. Great vintage photos and the Pet Shop Boys "Go West" soundtrack. Did you know that Bob Mizer's mother made the posing straps for his models? Five minutes of posing strap trivia and fun for the whole family.

This one's pretty cool too, "Sequence #31 in The Masculine Physique Series," looks like 1952. No soundtrack but it's more than a collection of still photos. Two very sexy guys strolling and posing in the dunes.

Vintage photo of a man with a bubble butt. Why?

When I look at this photo of "Ratzy" I imagine nudging his legs apart, kneeling between them and lowering my body on top of his. I want to feel that perfect butt pressed against my groin, the warmth of his skin against mine.

My question is: Why was this picture taken?

It dates from the 1940s, and came from a family photo album that includes guys in the military, lots of horsing around, and the common snapshots of Mother and babies and Cookie the dog. So why then, a photo like this which seems so obviously homoerotic?

Was it meant to be funny? Was the photographer simply oblivious to the male beauty on display? We'll never know.

Whatever the intent, it has found a new, appreciate audience.

Jean Boullet

An illustration from Les Beaux Gars, published in Nice 1951.

Born in 1921, Boullet was part of a circle of openly gay artists. His drawing style is reminiscent of Jean Cocteau-- with a hint of Tom of Finland.

Although he has a wide reputation in France (the Pompidou Center describes him as a "goblin in chains and black leather") there's hardly anything written about him in English.

What do you know about this under-appreciated artist? Please post any info in comments.

To Harvey

Finally saw MILK last night in a movie theater in the City Across the Bay-- Oakland, CA. While feeling some regret that I didn't see it at the Castro, I realized that it's just another sign of progress: We Are Everywhere. By the end of the film I heard lots of sniffling and saw plenty of teary eyes.

Still smarting from the passage of Prop 8, Milk's story, told and acted so beautifully, gives us strength and inspiration. Yes, it gives us "hope." Harvey may not have been resurrected but there's no doubt his spirit lives on.

And so we offer this vintage black and white photo by Crawford Barton as a tribute to Harvey Milk and his comrades.

It shows a smiling Larry Lara (Barton's lover) standing nude with the city of San Francisco as a backdrop.

It is both a personal and a political statement. And there's no doubt that Harvey, who had a keen sense of drama and an eye for male beauty, would have appreciated it.

Men Showering Together

A great photo, sold yesterday on eBay for a hefty $620. Pretty good price for an anonymous 8" x 10" photo with damage from a paper clip near the top.

The appeal is obvious... a bunch of naked guys showering together.

They all turn their backsides to the camera. Nice butts. Skin glistening. Soap dropping... well one can imagine.

But there's something very strange going on when you look a little more closely. Is it a double exposure? An elaborate Photoshop trick?

The guys in the foreground don't seem to be part of the same image. They look like they've been superimposed or layered on top.

The man on the right who is either taking off or putting on his underwear has a semi-transparent shoulder. The guys on the left... what the hell are they doing, just watching? Doesn't that seem a little, uh, gay?

And what's going on in the room itself? It doesn't look like a barracks, or a gym, or a bath house. Shower heads dangle from the lofty ceiling where a couple loose boards might come crashing down at any second. The whole steamy scene is artfully illuminated. You can almost hear the water dripping.

This photo raises a lot of questions and provides few, if any answers. Maybe that's why it was such a hot item. Or maybe just any old photo of a bunch of naked guys showering together sells for 600 bucks these days. I dunno, but will keep my eyes open.

Gay Interest

If you've spent anytime looking for homobilia on eBay the most common label you'll see is "gay interest." It's applied to just about any photo of a man. Two men in the same photo: "gay interest" no matter how disconnected they are.

If one man lays a hand on another's arm or shoulder, well you can be pretty sure that gay collectors will go ape-shit for it.

Or so eBay sellers hope. If there is such a thing as gaydar it can be directed at photos as well as people. Very few photos of men together are actually of "gay interest."

So what does this photo reveal? Two well dressed, cigar smoking men pose for a formal portrait. There is but one chair. The man on the left (call him Peter) sits on the others' knee. The other man (call him Albert) puts his right arm around Peter and holds him closely.

Gay interest? Absolutely. These guys are comfortable with each other. There's a matter-of-fact quality about their physicality, an intimacy you rarely see between two straight men. But that doesn't make them gay.

We can actually identify these men. Peter Aardahl on the left, Albert Aardahl on the right. Brothers. Farmers in North Dakota. Their photo was taken between 1912 and 1920. Before straight men learned to worry about being mistaken for gays. Now that's gay-interest.

Vern Front and Back

Meet Vern. He posed for these two photos sometime between 1920 and 1924. Remove the tapestry backdrop and the front view shows a guy you might have seen the other day at Gold's Gym. He's got a big toothy grin and a little spark in his eye.

Vern stands before the camera with ease and confidence. Wearing what appears to be white boxers with a little drawstring, he's obviously proud of his body. These pictures were taken to document his accomplishments in physical culture.

By today's overblown, self-conscious, airbrushed standards he seems pretty "normal." Maybe that's what's so appealing about him.

These two real photo postcards were saved for over 80 years before one of Vern's descendants decided it was time to auction them off.

Don't know how he would have felt about that but we'll try to make sure he finds a good home.