Royale Studio Models - David Reid (Updated 30th June)

1. David Reid solo - Royale Catalogue Entry

David Reid appeared in a number of Royale sets and storyettes. This image was his first, solo appearance, seemingly nude, oiled up and astonishingly muscular (with a touch of puppy fat). He's seated on Royale's famous military drum which appears in a number of Royale studio sets.

Royale Studios' Catalogue entry for DAR

1a David Reid by Royale

 
This image (added Jun 2022) is almost certainly from the DAR set.
It appeared in 'Tomorrows Man 7' magazine in 1959.

2. David Reid - Royale 02

It's possible that this image, which I found at Adonis Male, also comes from this early set with the black background. Although it's attributed to David, it's hard to authenticate it's identity in this quality. I do sense the hand of Royale's associate, Scott of London in the shapely pouch (if you know what I mean!). The chains add a tasty, feisty, fetish touch.

3

This image of David, is from Man Alive No 9 (April 1960)

This study of a dude cowboy from the autumn days of 'pouch art' looks rather ridiculous to modern eyes at first, but even from that perspective there's still a perverse sexiness in the manipulation of the model. David's youthful beauty and muscular build shine through the confusion. There's a somewhat leaner look about his face that's possibly connected to getting 'ripped' for a bodybuilding competition. 

For all the oddness, there's erotic craft to admire in the well-stuffed pouch and the belt tightly cinched about his waist accentuating the model's tapered torso and screaming out that his jeans are missing. It's lightly suggestive of restraint, especially in combination with the whip. 

The bandana tied round his neck has a similar, erotic ambiguity. It was a common, stylish accessory for TV cowboy stars of the time like Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter, but it also accentuates the sexiness of a stout neck when it's tied in a narrow strip - see Ty Hardin (in the middle) from the 'Bronco', TV show

4

This picture of David appeared in the following issue of Man Alive, No 10 (1960). It showcases his broad back and shapely buttocks but I'm not sure it's a very flattering pose overall (admittedly the slope of the magazine in this e-bay sales picture isn't helping). 

The gun as an erotic device is something of a cliché and it's shadow seems to be in an odd place if it's meant to be erotic innuendo. Once again David's hair is a standout feature.

5

This image really does showcase David's lusciously upholstered torso.

From Body Beautiful 16 (1961)

6

Another image from the same 1961 outdoor shoot.

Tracking down images of David is complicated by the use of aliases.

He was labelled as John Dawe for this picture when it appeared in Trim Studio Quarterly 26 (1968). 

It was part of a retrospective feature on Hussar Studio. 

8

David fronted Body Beautiful 16 in 1964 looking a lot more mature in Tarzan-esque gear with yet another fetish accessory - rope. You can see him as a body-builder here rather than a suggestive porn model but I've yet to discover other pictures in this vein. It may be that he used a different name for his straight posing. This picture was taken by Davmel not Royale. 

9

This is the best picture I have of David Reid and his luscious torso by a long way. It surfaced out of the blue in the Colville Exhibition of Royale Studio coloured masters in 2019. Royale lovers will recognise the wagon wheel from the closing scenes of 'Unapproved' but this image is not part of that storyette. It's the only example I can recall of a Royale Studio model wearing cut-offs and the cowboy flavour is unusual for Royale too although it also occurs in other images of David Reid above.

This picture of him is the closest match I can offer to the slightly puzzling opening images of the BULLIES set (see below, Royale 04 in the mitchmen archive)

~

DAVID REID STORYETTES

In addition to his solo set 'DAR', David Reid appeared in the following Royale Studio storyettes:

R04 BULLIES (Caned Sailors)

see mitchmen article, Royale Studio 04 

R08 UNAP (Unapproved)

In this well known picture from 'Unapproved' David (second left) is a dead ringer for image 6 above. Standing next to Fred Collins (on his right) you get a great sense of his bulk although Fred himself had amazing thighs. Such is the fickleness of genes. You can also see here that David was not particularly tall which may account for his less imposing appearance in some of the BULLIES pictures.

Unapproved (UNAP) was  Royale 08 in the original mitchmen review of Royale's work, 

that article is presently awaiting revision.

R99 WHYY (Why Y)

This thumbnail and Royale Catalogue entry below are the only information I have about this set in which 3 models try on underwear. You should be able to spot David on the right and Fred Collins on the left.

This highly original topic reminded me of how sexy it was to try on clothes with my first boyfriend in the privacy of his bedroom. David's reflection in the mirror is a frustrating glimpse of the great imagery this subject must have produced, and the underpants get ripped too! 

These fragments are parked in folder Royale 99, my Miscellaneous Sets folder

 in the mitchmen Open Archive of Royale Studios photos.

R99 THE TEST

This image is the only record I have of David's appearance in 'The Test'. 

It shows him being forcibly stripped, forced to fight and dunked in water (someone at Royale clearly had a thing about water tortures!). These pages appeared in Man Alive No 9, the same issue which he fronted as a Cowboy (image 3 above). The top row seems to include some great pictures of his physique (2,4 and 5), notice how they all seem to disguise his height!

I haven't been able to identify yet his co-stars in The Test, 'Barry and Brian', Royale had a number of models who used these forenames but the pictures above are not clear enough to link them. 

The narrative included in the article probably came from Royale's catalogue but this set doesn't appear in any of the catalogues I have (see below). I'm hoping a better image will turn up at some point so I can review it properly. If any of you have a better copy of this page or the magazine itself I would be very pleased to hear from you! Meanwhile, this fragment is also parked in Royale 99, my Miscellaneous Sets folder in the mitchmen Open Archive of Royale Studios photos.

Sequencing and Dating of David Reid's Appearances for Royale

The only clue I have to the sequencing of these sets is the catalogue number in which they appear:

Catalogue No 7 - BULLIES, 

Catalogue No 8 - DAR (solo set) and UNAPproved, 

Catalogue No 10 WHYY. 

THE TEST does not appear in any of my catalogues. That's probably because Catalogue 10 was dated January 1960, whereas THE TEST appeared in 'Man Alive 9' in April 1960, so I imagine it would have been included in Catalogue 11 (which I don't have).

By the way, it was quite normal for Royale to release images of a model in a storyette before doing a solo set. 

~

These bio's of Royale Models will be included in the mitchmen Open Archive of Royale Studio