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| Brian Lamprill, in pouch, by Vic White |
Vic White was a respected British body-builder in the 50s, so his choice of models and photography of them was based on a true appreciation of the artistic and physical qualities of a well-developed, male physique.
What surprised me about the Lamprill portfolio though, was the sheer sexiness that emanated from it, not just from the model's face, bulk and oily curves, but from the frankly startling shaping of his posing pouch. (which may have got a bit oily, accidentally). It's very revealing that both the photographer and model were clearly comfortable with this.
These pictures were published in the British, beefcake magazine 'Man Alive' in 1960. Openly published I nearly said, but it was hard to get hold of copies, except by mail order subscription. Nevertheless, it seems remarkable in those oppressed times. It sparked an (admittedly prurient!) interest in me about this photographer, which revived when I came across the picture below in my files.
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| Ray Andrews by Vic White |
I freely admit that this model is my 'type', not pretty but he has an innate 'maleness'. As with the image of Lamprill above, that quality emerges more strongly if you subtract the slightly camp, bodybuilder/ballet legs....
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| Ray Andrews by Vic White |
Ray's pouch is more discreetly arranged than Brian's, but you still get the picture. This much derided garment is capable of as much erotic impact as the most slick and skimpy of modern thongs. Its improvisatory appearance is itself part of the appeal, particularly on a man who looks far from being the sort who would be comfortable showing himself and being photographed in such unusual and revealing kit.
After all, this is an era when men's underwear actually fitted around the waist, above the hips and hiding the navel.
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| Prehistoric Men's Underwear ad |
(a time when tents and men's briefs were carefully segregatedand you had to take pills for blue finger)
60's underpants also entirely covered the backside, whereas the pouch is completely backless. In these circumstances, Ray's confident looking pose is commendable. This man inspired my title for this post - Real Men Do Wear Pouches.
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| Derek Manthorpe by Vic White |
This photo has similar qualities, a man with pleasant, but unremarkable facial features. You might imagine him working in an office. But he's unexpectedly showing an incredibly bulky torso and an incongruous pouch that seems weighed down by its contents. His expression seems to convey manly bewilderment at being asked to wear such a thing and having to hold his hands behind his back, (as if they were tied together) to leave the embarrassing, brazen display (and imaginary access to it by any viewer) entirely unrestricted.
White has arranged Derek's pouch to be narrower than Ray's (pushing together the top hem, which slides freely on the support string like a simple curtain). His pouch sides drop vertically, creating the impression of weightiness (and, for the wearer, increasing the sense of brevity and openness at the sides). There's possibly (probably) been some sanitising of the pouch surface, but the w-shaped shadow/stain at its base is reassuringly shapely, crying out to be cradled, like billiard balls in a bag. White himself has cropped off the lower half of the picture but stopped just short of the pouch and that draws attention to it.
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| Ken Restall by Vic White |
Ken Restall was another mature-looking man who looked an improbable choice for a model, but you can't argue with that physique!
White has employed the same crotch-level, cropping device here and created a strange shadow underneath, which gives an impression of exceptional bulk in the pouch without showing any sensitive detail. It's set very low down on Ken's shaved abdomen, but the strings at the side suggest it should be even lower. It looks like unfinished adjustments.
Ken's finely chiselled torso is well worthy of the unrestricted display afforded by the hands above the head pose, but rather than opting for conventional bicep flexing arm he's chosen a hands-clasping position that gives the faint impression of him being tied.
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| Mike Tozer by Vic White |
Mike Tozer was something of a catch for White, well muscled with a photogenic personality. White snapped him in a traditional muscle pose here, but again with the pouch slung very low on a shaved abdomen. It looks like his pubic hair has been painted out just above the pouch. The photo is cropped slightly lower down the legs than those above, which brings out his impressively-sized thighs but seems to miniaturise the pouch.
The pouch itself is at the opposite extreme to those just above - loose fitting, apparently, with an indentation that suggests thick material, which certainly hasn't been wetted. Perhaps Mike brought his own. Some of that linen crispness is attributable to the extreme AI adjustments I've resorted to, in order to create a brighter, sharper image, but the pouch looks just the same in the noisy original.
It's not very flattering to a man, appearing to have very little to show seems worse than showing everything. However, spots like this, dark in the middle with a bright halo, often appear on old photographs, so I've experimented with a version treating this as noise.
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| Mike Tozer by Vic White (pouch modified) |
This modified version is more like what you'd expect and credits Mike with a manly presence.
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| Ray Golding by Vic White |
White's manipulations with pouches seem to have reached a crescendo with this image. It's not obviously faked. How did he persuade the model to get into this? More to the point, I suppose, how did he persuade the conservative magazine, Man's World, to publish this in February 1959, well before the dawn of the permissive 60s?
Ray Golding has the pop-star looks of that era and a physique that looks trim rather than well-muscled. Not White's usual material.
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| Ray Golding by Vic White |
I don't know if Ray Golding is related to Roy, it's from late 1958 (Man Alive, issue 2) so it's conceivably the same person, but this image of him is worth including in its own right. He's got more oil on his body that he's got on his hair but its has a magical effect on his youthful physique.
He gives the impression of a frustrated, young man who has just been told he can't borrow Dad's car. Or punished by having to wear a skimpy pouch, in my twisted imagination!
His right arm is semi-flexed, like a bodybuilder pose, but it's placed on the far side so as not to interfere with the line of his body that flows down to the pouch nestling between his thighs. The pouch itself is clean and natural-looking with intriguing, if faint, contours and a teasing opening at the side.
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| Doug Preddy by Vic White |
Another tribute to youth from around the same time (Aug 58). Doug strikes a 'thinker' pose, similar to Ray's, but more philosophical and classical. Doug's muscle credentials demonstrate a good deal of time spent in the gym, with the photo capturing splendid arm details.
His raised leg ensures a clear pouch outline with bulkiness and ambiguous shaping that seems more suggestive than genuine. Sorry Doug! The indrawn ab just above compensates, seemingly inviting exploration and delving.
More on Vic White to come
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