My copy of Picture 4 is a full size print and I have to admit this frontal pose doesn't seem very sexy, although it shows off Fred's marvellous thighs and John the Sailor's upper body well. In this image the models have assumed a military persona. This is the era of compulsory military service in the UK when young men are forced to leave their friends and family and enter a tough all-male environment where they have little freedom and have to do exactly as they are told. Seen in this light the un-military poses and resigned facial expressions make more sense.
Royale Studio - Soldier-Sailor 4
The Sailor's trousers seem just too tight here, they appear have been stuffed but the groin detail is still interesting - is that darker area a wet 'tide-mark? His belt disappears inside the front flap of his trousers for some reason, which doesn't enhance the top line although I can understand the sensuality of that idea. You can see the wet creasing more clearly on the lower leg here. Tucking the trousers inside the gaiters is the correct way to use them, they serve no practical purpose with shorts - except for those who enjoy seeing strappings round limbs!
Post Script - Apparently gaiters with shorts was OK, see reader comment below
Post Script - Apparently gaiters with shorts was OK, see reader comment below
Royale Studio - Soldier-Sailor 5
Things improve in pictures 5 and 6 as the pair admire themselves in a mirror. Curiously, the reflections of these men (especially Fred, the soldier) look much more impressive and interesting than they did in the straight forward frontal shot of picture 4, even the set of the beret seems more natural. John the sailor's back and bottom look great while Fred's poses show off his shorts particularly well, they curve around the thighs giving them solidity. These pictures are well composed and appealing but there is no lack of suggestive sexuality when you consider the sharply defined ass cracks and the frontal bulges.
Royale Studio - Soldier-Sailor 6
I have seen it said on one blog that the intended recipients of these pictures were contemptuous of the obvious padding and rejected it, but that is to miss the point. It was illegal to sell or buy explicit images or excessively suggestive ones for that matter. The customers may have despised it but they knew it was all they were going to get. They had to make the best of little mounds hidden amongst the swimwear, rejoice in the shared understanding of subversive symbolism and enjoy the game as studios pushed at boundaries with ever more audacious images.
For earlier articles in this series click on the GIU/Royale label below
I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has better quality copies of these pictures and is willing to share
2 comments:
The soldier should have been wearing his gaiters because the tropical uniform of the time was shorts with knee socks, boots and gaiters. In tropical uniform the gaiters were worn to give the ankle a bit more support over rough ground, the bondage suggestion however is a happy coincidence.
You can really see the way that Royale liked to squeeze their models into the tightest clothing they could get away with in that frontal shot. That is not a belt he is wearing, it is actually part of the fastening of the flap fly of the bell bottoms. The fact that it has been destorted so much means that it must have been a real struggle to do them up. I suspect that his wonderful V-shaped torso is actually being aided by the fact that he is having to breath in so as not to rip the buttons off his trousers and send them flying across the studio!
Another little interesting thing is that in the photo of the sailor admiring is ability to hold his breath in the mirror he is wearing a money belt in the studio, but not in the reflection.
Thanks for this contribution. I have annotated the Gaiter remark to refer readers to your information.
The 'money-belt' is there in the reflection but it's hidden under the flap, you can just see the top of it in picture 4
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