[Collection of Advertisements for Photos of Male Models]

Published by Bruce of Los Angeles, Los Alamitos, Calif, 1960

About this Item

11" x 8½". 18 single sheet flyers (including one duplicate), each printed both sides. Generally very good or better: creased at old folds; a bit of light corner wear or toning to edges; two with a modest colored pencil scrawl and two with hand-amended prices. This is a rare group of promotional flyers for photographs of male models, issued by the noted pioneer of beefcake photography, Bruce of Los Angeles. Bruce Bellas quit his job as a Nebraska chemistry teacher and headed to Los Angeles in the late 1940s to become a professional photographer. He quickly rose to the top, photographing the muscle men of Venice Beach and other local beefcakes in classically composed scenes that elicited all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. He launched his Male Figure magazine in 1956, and two years later relocated to the suburb of Los Alamitos, setting up a studio in his garage. These fabulous flyers advertise issues of Male Figure, along with catalogs and individual photographs of impeccably-built men, with price lists, brief descriptions and ordering instructions. There are short bios and small shots of dozens of male models, some of whom enjoyed modest fame, such as Jim Pappa, "former husband of Carole Tregoff of the Dr. Finch murder case" (and a "beautiful hunk of man"), professional boxer John Knight and a slew of college athletes. One series, "Cowboys of the West," starred United States Marines or Navy men "whose background is the ranch or rodeo," and another promoted a "Mardi Gras Fantasy" with shots of the "gay exciting costumes" at "Carnival Day in New Orleans." A few flyers shared where the shoots took place ("studio," "farm," "desert" or "at home") and some gave the men's nationality, age, height, and weight. Pricing data is comprehensive, and a few manuscript notations reveal Bruce's increased costs. All flyers list the Los Alamitos address (save one, with the Los Angeles address scratched out), and a few reference the years 1959 and '60, allowing for our date attribution. Rare promotional material for fantastic photographs of captivating men. No holdings of any of these flyers were located in OCLC.

Seller Inventory # 7833

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [Collection of Advertisements for Photos of Male Models]
• Publisher: Bruce of Los Angeles, Los Alamitos, Calif
• Publication Date: 1960
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Photography