Vintage Bondage Blog

I recently discovered a new blog specialising in 'vintage' bondage imagery, much of which is relatively unknown (in the UK at least) because it was so difficult to publish at that time, even AMG's limp ropings were underground stuff. Seeing the great stars of the time, like Fred Halstead and Jack Wrangler, subjected to genuine bondage is very exciting.

Fred Halstead

The pictures I show here are refreshing because they have a simplicity which goes to the essence of bondage - tying a man up to keep him as a helpless captive. The loop of rope round Fred Halstead's neck, pulling his head back and his wrists up high behind his back, creates an impression of dark threat and desperate struggle and it presents to us a tensed, exposed torso which you want to reach out and touch. This looks like a real man.

Jack Wrangler

Struggle is the theme of this image of Jack Wrangler too. His apparent unwillingness to remain tied up greatly enhances his male credentials with untamed, animal spirit - which makes him all the more desirable and his inability to escape all the more erotic. This impression of resistance and fear is made possible by the simple level of restraint used, which still allows him considerable movement. The complex web of body bindings that we see in Shibari style restraint can totally immobilise the victim and while this may display his body to good effect, it drains away all sense of his personality and can even make him seem like a passive volunteer, which is nothing like as much fun. Those forms of bondage preoccupied with body enclosure in straps, body bags, masks etc, take this further, focussing more on the bondage experience but obscuring the object of desire - the male body.

Joey Yale

The bondage is similar in this picture, still focussed on arm and leg restraint. It's cleverly photographed to show each of the bindings very clearly - even the tied toes. I think the black and white format helps. This image really creates a sense of subjugation, the captive's kneeling pose of course and the contrast of his nudity with his standing partner's jeans. But for me it's the helmet-like, full head of hair which really makes this picture sing. It's dated, but the careful styling is meant to be paired with equally stylish clothing and looks so out of place on a naked body that it really drives home the fact that this man actually is naked. It makes his trim body seem slender, slight and vulnerable. Seen through modern eyes, accustomed to seeing short hair and ravishing muscles on fetish models, this man looks as though he has been plucked from an entirely different, affluent world, to suffer whatever indignities and abuse his captor desires to inflict upon him.

Joey Yale is less well known than the two above but was actually Fred Halstead's partner and a director of a number of porn films for Cosco.

I published a coloured picture from this shoot a few years ago in my Muscle and Rope series where you can see the captive's face more clearly and compare the visibility of the rope ties when seen in colour. I visualised him as an abducted, spoilt playboy then, I guess we might plump for a banker these days!

There were more pictures at Vintage male Bondage. Sadly it's gone now (2019) presumably thanks to tumblrs sudden fit of respectability. I'm hoping the owner of this blog reinvents it somewhere. He set himself a difficult task, finding a sustained supply of quality vintage imagery, but I hope he returns.
Please contact me if you know more.

Since publishing this article I have found the original source of these images see Muscle and Rope 21

Bush Bikini Boys

Bush - Mini Bikini

Skimpy Bikinis with bold designs were a feature of many of Harry Bush's stylish drawings in the 60's. The mini bikini above attributes the style to London fashion - this was the 'swinging sixties' - but I doubt that you'd see clothes like this (or men like this!) on any British beach in that era.

Bush - Tigers

Bush's pictures show them being worn by a handsome, young adonis who wants to show off his assets and torment and exploit older men, less gifted by nature, who happened to pass by.

             
Bush - Surfer and VW(left), Malibu or Bust (right)

 I always assumed there was a lot of artistic licence in the flamboyant designs especially the polka dots used to stunning effect on these passing motorists, surely no-one wore these!

However, I recently discovered. this interesting photo showing two guys wearing identical side-knotted polka dot bikinis. It's from the 50's according to the title, quite daring I would have thought for that time. Two on the same beach seems quite a coincidence, perhaps this was Life imitating Art, two Harry Bush fans paying tribute. Who knows?

See more in my A-Z article on Harry Bush

Ministry of Silly Hats - 5 The Cloth Cap

Edu Boxer

The cloth cap used to be almost universal, 

equally at home on the heads of working men trudging to the pit 

and tweeded aristocrats killing defenceless animals on the moors. 

Nowadays, it is also picked up and plugged periodically by the fashion trade. 

Suave it may be, chic too perhaps, if worn at a suitable angle, 

but it's hardly the garment of choice for a beefcake shoot 

as Edu Boxer proves in this this moment of indignity, 

provided courtesy of 'Unzipped magazine'

Pretentious? - moi?

I was always told, never put your hands on your hips when throwing a tantrum, it looks camp. Perhaps Edu is protesting his maltreatment? 

Maybe he wants to keep the hat on for the whole shoot?

Edu Boxer looking great

Thankfully the hat is jettisoned and the result is this glorious image 

which you probably already know. 

A sublime example of clothes maketh man sexy.

Edu Misbehaving

I'll let Edu present his full chunky credentials. 

I understand why he's wearing boots and nothing else 

but why he's standing on the bed in them is anyone's guess. 

His mum won't thank him for it!

For other posts in this series, click on 'hats' in the lable list below

Guys in Uniform Studio No 12 Changing Shorts

Changing Shorts

1

Guys in Uniform Studio - Runner

This group of pictures from the 'Guys In Uniform' Studio features the same model as my last post on GIU, No 11 Military Intimidation in which he threatens a dejected athlete. This time he's in rather nice athletic shorts that reveal a good deal of detail of what lies within. I don't know if this is the Royale wet fabric trick again, but it works for me!

2

Trying to sequence these vintage pictures by reference to clothing is often quite futile as the photographer clearly tried out various clothing combinations and undress sequences. Here the model has removed shorts and one legs-worth of shoe and sock. The bare foot in this picture is an angular treat in the Etienne mould.

3

Here he is apparently removing his shorts, or perhaps underwear, but this time with no shoes or socks on at all. Another interesting foot shot. There's a tantalising glimpse of cock in the shadows. 

4

Now we see him removing what looks like a jockstrap, again with no footwear on. It's a bit frustrating for lovers of orderly strip sequences but the photographer must have had fun directing proceedings.

5

Here he is donning a pair of 50's style soccer shorts and little dick comes out into the open, flaccid, of course - and cut which is not particularly common in the UK. Around this time there was much pushing of boundaries regarding frontal nudity, for Guys In Uniform it was all in vain.

6

In the final picture our hero wriggles into a football/rugby style shirt with hoops and button up neck. Not very alluring visually, despite the hitched up leg hems and subtle bulge. Modern day sporting gear is rather more flattering, but the attraction of gays to sportsmen then was equally potent.

GIU Continues in Part 13

For previous posts about Guys In Uniform Studio and Royale Studio, click on the GIU/Royale label below

Boy to Man - Will Clark

Will Clark's transition from boy to man has produced some memorable images along the way.
This post follows his journey.


Will Clark
I love a man who can fill out a Tee shirt - and Y-fronts.


Will Clark - Sweet Youth

 I love the chunky bulkiness of Will's torso,
which somehow seems at odds with the college boy haircut.


Will Clark - Older and Thoughtful

Looking a little sad and weary here, strangely alluring.


Will Clark - Knowing Looks

More lighthearted and mischievous - and a sign of things to come - bit of facial hair

Will Clark - Salty Dog

Tattoos and piercings make their appearance, coming of age?

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artsts - My Favourite 'P'

It is my custom to select a favourite artist for each letter based on technical quality, fetish content, sensuality and sheer personal preference. I won't consider lesser artists whose work strays into areas I personally find unappealing or where I have too few samples of their work to make a balanced assessment.

In letter 'P' we have a number of heavyweight professional illustrators and artists - Parker, Pashke, Patterson, Pichard, Player, Platter and Prevot - whose ability is unquestioned but I think it's fair to say that, except for Pashke and maybe Player, their fetish content is incidental to the sexual adventures. For me Palanca undoubtedly tops the fetish league in this group, he puts his interest in feet (and sex!) in the forefront of his pictures and even for a non-convert like me it is absolutely fascinating and very convincing. Paschke also deserves a mention for the honesty of his portayals. When it comes to sensuality - the sheer erotic attractiveness of the images - the stars for me are Patterson, Prevot and Palanca.

Palanca - Melons

It's a no brainer for me, Palanca is my favourite and this final picture, which I call 'melons' is one I reluctantly left out of my main review of his work. It's a celebration of oral sensuality and I like it not so much for it's artistic qualities, it's an energetic but somewhat confused image, but because I just love the melon eater eagerly burying his jaw between upraised ass cheeks. The portrayal of this man hits so many buttons for me, his youthful square jaw (nicely stubbled), his neat trimmed sideburns, his cap turned round back to front, his muscular arms and abdomen emerging from a clinging T-shirt, the bowing forward curve of his body accentuating plump buns and allowing his cock to rest on his companion's slobbering tongue, a slippery runway into the greedy waiting mouth.
The fact that the other characters in the picture are not particularly attractive merely accentuates his desirability as he is absorbed into the animal lust of the proceedings. There is something peculiarly erotic too about the central figure's impossible, upside-down, backbreaking position.

Palanca's enthusiasm for his subject shines through in his work are we are fortunate to be able to enjoy it.

See my main review of Palanca's work for a link to his blog.

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the search box in the title bar to find your favourite artist

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Proco

Proco - Spank the Boy

My last 'P' artist is Proco. This is the only picture I have by him but it's a cracker, showing an older man giving his younger partner a hell of a spanking. The characterisation of both men contains unexpected and pleasing contrasts - the grizzled, cuddly-looking, bear showing an evil streak and the excessively beautiful youth revelling in painful chastisement.

It's a neat composition full of life and strong sense of the two men sharing a memorable experience which isn't easy to achieve with back-turned, spanking situations. Part of this 'sharing' comes from the characterful facial expressions (Poserartists note!). But there's another reason, the picture is filled with angular, zig zag shapes and diagonals that flow through the limbs and bodies of the two men visually linking them together and creating a satisfying overall 'pattern' that looks very coherent. You can also see that their individual poses are like mirror image 'Z' shapes superimposed on each other, a sort of angular yin and yang if you like, pulling them neatly together. If I also compare these zig-zag shapes to lightning, you will see where some of the impression of urgent, sharp action comes from.

I can't find a website for Proco and I would welcome any information from readers.

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the search box in the title bar to find your favourite artist.

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Prevot

Prevot - Angelface (cover)

Benoit Prevot has carved a unique niche in gay art. His images look back with nostalgia to the decadent, early 20^th Century. Wealthy young toffs sporting waved hair, top hats and morning suits mingle with obsequious but obliging servants and rough, cloth-capped workers. His technical style also draws inspiration from the illustrative art of that period. He is perhaps best known for erotic flavoured narratives like 'Angelface' for Class Comics above.

Prevot - Slick it Up

Prevot's fetish credentials are incidental to his main work, but the confident light touch in this image for Slick It Up, suggests he knows what he is talking about. The dramatic background shadow rounding out the scene is typical of his style

Prevot - Tulips

Many of his pictures have two layers of meaning with devices like shadows and mirrors giving a wry twist to the surface image. Tulips (my title) is a simple, not very subtle, example. A young man poses for an 'arty' picture unaware that the shadow on the wall behind shows him in a different light. There's an element of class manipulation in this picture, the pugnacious face and the belted trousers suggest he's an ordinary working guy, he looks uninterested and would probably be unwilling to bare any more, even for ready money. But the scheming artist still manages to compromise him. This visual trickery in erotic art (and there's a nice pun on the flower's name too) has pretty much died out now, but was commonplace (in more subtle form of course) in the days of censorship and more oppressive attitudes. I discussed other examples by Tom of Finland and by Royale Studios in a recent posts here. It's nice to see someone carrying on an erotic tradition.

Prevot - Cleavage

There are similar undercurrents of class and manipulation in 'Cleavage' (my title). A workman in a fashion house is commandeered to help the model a new garment for the catalogue illustration. In this marvellous image, Prevot creates a power and humiliation scenario full of unexpected twists and contrasts.

The smooth, young, stylists are distinctly upper crust and full of confidence and this enables them to exercise complete power over the stereotypical, humble workman who is so straight and conventional he could almost be your dad. They casually humiliate him by persuading him to expose his ass (quite a feat in that era) and must have been thrilled to find such peachy cheeks beneath such an unpromising exterior. And if this exposure were not embarrassing enough for the poor workman, his backside is now compared to a woman's bosom and matched up with a frilly dress, a fetish overtone in it's own right which I've not covered much in this series of articles. We're not quite sure if the illustrator looking on is seriously assessing neckline options or lasciviously enjoying the male 'décolletage' - or perhaps he's noticed the even more embarrassing reflection in the mirror.

This sort of comic scenario (bar the mirror image) could easily have featured in the famous saucy postcards of the pre-WW2 period by Donald McGill, but by taking it a little more seriously and sensuously, Prevot gives it a real erotic kick.

Prevot has a blog and you'll find lots about him very easily via Google

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the search box in the title bar to find your favourite artist.

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Prescott

Prescott - Preparation

Prescott produced art for the infamous Katharsis extreme art website, now defunct. My sample sums up his subject matter, but I prefer not to post anything more explicit on this blog. I would refer seekers after more to the GMBA Google Group (link in sidebar). His style appears to be based on traced photographs spliced with geometric drawings of guillotines. It's crude but effective.

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the search box in the title bar to find your favourite artist.

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Plinio

Plinio - Crucified

Plinio has been around for some time producing crucifixion scenarios featuring older men but I don't have a big collection of his work so I can't comment at length on it.

This example is a recent work, a pencil sketch featuring an unusual take on the mechanics of crucifixion which is quite stylish in it's simplicity. The mature figure and his suffering is well observed and it's interesting to compare this image with Player's angry young surfer in the last post.

I'm not aware of any site for Plinio but in you are interested in the subject MCResearch Group is a good place to start

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Player

Steven Player is another well established illustrator who produces a good deal of mainstream fantasy work. This overflows into his gay-themed images which are often gritty and populated by angry men, skinheads and strange gnomic creatures and dwarves.

Player - Dracula

I've included this vampire book illustration to illustrate the sheer quality of his work, which shows oceans of technical skill and a seductive erotic touch as well. The portrayal of Dracula as a needy, young addict is fascinating. Clearly once handsome, he is now wasting away under the demands of his blood lust - but he seems to have picked a top quality victim to top up from!

Player - Surf

The surfer crucified and bound in barbed wire on his own surfboard appeals to ageing killjoys and sadistic tastes alike, but it is an angry, disturbing image. It's not just youth and the carefree lifestyle (represented by floppy blond hair and cut-off jeans) being punished here, but sexuality too (lithe muscular body and unbuttoned shorts). Nails, blood and barbed wire (as in the film 'Jubilee'), Player doesn't pull his punches.

Player - Man Dog

Player presents his ageist credentials in Man Dog. An ordinary suburban garden is the setting for a humiliating role reversal as two boys 'wash the dog'. The 'man dog' is a full blown, angry skinhead with Doc Martin Boots and skinny jeans, now dangling from a tree in the background. Player's skinheads usually inhabit the dangerous alleyways of the city. It's not clear how he got here nor quite how these mischievous lads persuaded him to undress and don a dog collar while they washed him down - he's a burglar caught in the act perhaps? At any rate they are clearly in the driving seat and all concerned seem to be finding it jolly exciting, including the real dog - a nice touch.

Player - Twenty Seven

I love this picture of shared, ritual humiliation. Two young skinheads are on the receiving end here, hands tied behind (?) they are placed in a closet to be anonymously anointed by the rest of the gang, one after another. At twenty seven, (not their ages I suspect), their faces show it's not altogether to their liking, despite the obvious excitement at being used. Interestingly, Player depicts a changeover moment and only light is streaming through the gloryholes, allowing the two buddies to reflect on the messy process. I quite like the fact that they are shown standing up, still proud men. It requires us to imagine up some sort of raised platform for the donors on the other side of the wall, but makes the humiliation more profound than abject grovelling and also allows Player to show us their attractive bodies.

Player - Sex PG(4)

An intriguing picture. These ruffians have landed in some tropical region and could be soldiers judging by the hair, tattoos and dog tag on view. They have made a prisoner of an attactive young man, who appears to have just tattooed one of them on the arm, although his features and own tribal tattoos suggest he is anything but tribal or local. The two handsome rogues seem to have discovered that his loin cloth conceals an undeclared interest in them and are amusing themselves discussing what they might do about it - with cane and cigarette ready to hand. Political undertones here? Although it doesn't have the raunchy drama of other Player pictures, the characterisation of the three men in this picture is fascinating and true to life. It's a picture you want to linger over.

Player's own website is PlayerMen, you'll find some sexy images there

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below

Mitchells' A-Z of Fetish Artists - Platter

Platter - Statues

Sean Platter is a professional illustrator of some note, his older work is often lushly sensuous beefcake, like 'Statues' above. The captive beauty of statues has inspired artists and randy adolescents alike for centuries. Closer inspection of the copulating couple artwork reveals patches of natural skin colouration, are they about to come to life? Etienne famously played with this theme - and Mozart in 'Don Giovanni'. The ghostly treatment of the other background statues, draped with dust sheets suggests something more sinister, is the hunk about to be recruited into their ranks?

Platter - Leather Prisoner

You can see the same mind at work in 'Leather Prisoner' (my title), a straightforward image of a fetish ritual is transformed by placing a majestic, pair of wings behind the prisoner, their representation is just ethereal enough to suggest a spiritual rather than a physical existence. The upward pointing tips, like a bird of prey, imply strength and power. Just as well, for the large cog wheel in the foreground threatens pain on a grand scale for this 'angel'.

Platter - Flogged (from 'Demonic Sex' comic)

Platter's more recent 'Demonic Sex' series of comics explores these sorts of themes further. I suppose demonology might be regarded as a fetish in it's own right were it to be capable of physical realisation. The scenario where a pick-up transforms from stud into a horrifying, devouring beast is certainly erotically stimulating and sums up the human condition rather well, hence the perpetual popularity of the classic, monster-horror/ 'beauty and the beast' genres. The flogging transformation (Flogged) above is just the start of the hero's trials at the hands of one of the more enticing varieties of demon which Platter conjures up, with luscious attention to the relevant detail! This image is reminiscent of Bill Ward's comic style.

Platter - Gargoyles (from 'Demonic Sex' comic)

In Platter's hands this is just the gateway to a succession of abduction scenarios neatly summed up by the 'Gargoyles' composite above. A demon interrupts a leather bondage session and converts the participants. 'Demonic Sex' is generously laced with humour and caricature cameos which are just as interesting as his older work. I'm not keen on the grotesquery here but I really like the idea behind this little story - two men taken and imprisoned within another form, transformed into servants. How much more delicious though, if they were deserving villains rather than the easy leather queen target!

Platter - Foreskin (from 'Demonic Sex' comic)

The angel, above, enveloped by a devilish foreskin is genuinely original, funny and erotic all at the same time but the rest of the story is peppered with bloody, ritual death and regeneration scenes that I suspect would be unpublishable as erotica were it not dressed up in humour and devilish fantasy, where the normal rules governing pain and death are suspended. It's a funny world!

Platter - Feed! (from 'Demonic Sex' comic)

My final frame shows the hero's subjugation and induction into his new role as servant of the demon, it's pretty erotic with or without the horns, beautifully conveying not just lust, but domination as well. A terrific artist.
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The samples of Demonic Sex presented here are just selected frames from the comics and not full pages. The originals are available from Triple Six Comics.

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Sean's own website is at Decadent Arts

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For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below

A-Z of Fetish Artists - Pichard

Pichard - Roman Lash (my title)

This picture is a fetish perennial on the internet so I cannot overlook it. The artist is actually noted for heterosexual erotica and the background detail of classic architecture and female onlookers bears this out. The treatment of the foreground figure doesn't really match in quality and I suspect it has been erotically 're-engineered' for a gay audience. Nevertheless the combination of frail nudity and the domineering, unpleasant looking guard wielding the lash is very effective. The leg-over-the-bar shackling arrangement is curious but contributes to the visual erotic effect, I suppose it makes more sense in the original story context.

Georges Pichard is well represented on comic art fans . He's also in Wikipaedia and Googling produces lots of example of his work. Interesting if you don't mind looking at females.

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below

A-Z of Fetish Artists - Philippe

Philippe - Chairbound

A brief mention for Philippe who has produced some interesting dungeon imagery full of shaved heads and rubber garments. This artist's work is a curious mixture of subtle skill and naivety. The chairbound example is quite a nice image and the depiction of the captive's face is full of subtle detail, as is the strangely-angled stone wall behind him. In contrast, other significant parts of the picture are quite crude, unfinished even, like the captor's face - which works to some extent. I'm not so sure about the sketchy treatment of the ropes and the victim's open legs.

Philippe - Rubber Orgy

The rubber orgy picture with it's bathroom accessories is reminiscent of Bastille's work with a confused melee of men exploring every possible sensuality. The depiction of the bodies is quite stylised and they end up looking like real men rather than muscle gods. There's quite strong sense of shared pleasure here too, which is refreshing. Perhaps the real antecedants of this picture are the youthful romps drawn by Spartacus in the 1950's. This picture is also lifted by quirky incidental detail, like the fastidious participant who prefers to empty himself into a toilet and the out of scale, suited voyeur in the shadows.

Philippe seems to focus more on what is happening and what the participants are experiencing than on the visual depiction itself. I can't decide if the result is naïve or exceptionally artistic. Either way it's not a resounding success for me as erotica but definitely interesting work.

I can't find a website for Philippe and I would welcome information from readers.

For earlier posts in this series click on the A-Z label below