Vintage Targeting

Irwin Horwitz captured by Eddie Williams (WPG)

 An unusually daring bondage image from WPG. The subject of abduction itself is controversial in any age and this image is realistically modelled compared with contemporary imagery with the wrist restraint looking snug and the ropes held by the abductor stretched tight. All this with both models completely naked.

Irwin Horwitz fights Eddie Williams (WPG)

This image, possibly from the same series, shows Irwin holding his own against Eddie, an older man with superior size and muscle development. It's not obvious that it's the same location, but Eddie, at least, is still pouched here. Irwin seems to have a vicious hammerlock on his left arm. 

Irwin Horwitz (WPG)

Irwin's somewhat boyish appearance in the duals with Eddie, detract from their appeal for me, but this studio image portrays him in a much more desirable light, with decent, light musculature and a sexy smattering of body hair, especially in the lower regions. 

Perhaps Irwin was trained and buffed up after being captured and this is him on his big day at the saleroom. He presents well.

And if you're wondering whether Eddie managed to fulfil his capture quota that day, up in the hills, 

the image below may give you the answer.

Eddie Williams in chains (WPG)

Eddie appeared in the same auction catalogue as Irwin, as Lot 112.

He protested to the end and this image captured the moment when he had to be whipped

to make him go onto the stage and mount the rostrum.

That sort of behaviour is counter-productive, it attracts the worst kind of bidders, the harsh disciplinarians and men who don't want the slave as a worker at all, just as a target for their venom.

~

I have added this post to the 'Vintage Bondage' and 'Targeted' series.

Click on the labels below for related posts (mitchmods for more captions)

Vintage Bondage - Leonard Chambers chained, roped and nude

 Leonard Chambers was the subject of the very first Vintage Bondage post at mitchmen blog, back in 2015. Those images were chosen because they had more of a sense of a restraint about them than was usual in the 1950's. I added some more images from the same shoot to it not so long ago so you might like to check them out using the link just above.

Leonard Chambers in chains 1 (AMG)

The original post featured rope bondage on a bench. These images feature chains and upright poses but they also capture the special qualities of this popular model. His canted head in the image above conveys a sense of thoughtfulness and sadness, as though he's a man contemplating his choices and the punishment for them. There's a better sense of his luxurious physique than in the first set, nicely oiled. The position of his hands obscures enough of his pouch to give a good sense of nakedness (with scope for lewder interpretations of what's going on out of sight). 

Leonard Chambers in chains 2 (AMG)

This picture obliquely suggests that the punishment might be a visit to the whipping post. Chambers strikes a proud, or you might say arrogant, defiant pose while facing the prospect of a barrage of pain. His raised arms give another a great view of  his torso. The often maligned, posing pouch is fully visible but has the virtue of looking as if there is something inside it, neatly packaged. It's a puzzle to me why photographers didn't opt for a loin cloth design for images like this, when it was a common enough sight in the 'Sword and Sandals' movies of the time.

These images seem much influenced by traditional, medieval notions of martyrdom. That association may help to make them look more convincing but you have to give a lot of credit to the model here for creating a dramatic moment, when it is apparent on closer inspection that he is not secured to the post at all but holding it up and the supposed 'marble pillar' looks suspiciously like a roll of floor covering. 

Leonard Chambers in chains 3 (AMG)

He adopts the same look for this pose, but arguably looks more annoyed than defiant, perhaps because the level of restraint here is barely rudimentary. The chains don't look as if they'd withstand much force and even if convincingly secured it would be more symbolic than real. Just like the prison bars at the back, to be fair. Despite such quibbles, it's still a great image of a captive muscle hunk. The loop of chain brushing the front of his pouch adds an erotic frisson.

Leonard Chambers - Sheath 1

This extraordinarily atmospheric image is not an example of bondage exactly but the model has swapped his posing pouch for a 'sheath' that encloses his sex organ in fashion that seems to anticipate the chastity devices of recent years - symbolically again but still rather sexy. Notice that the background has become a classical ancient building, conjuring up fantasies of enslavement. It's the best image yet of Leonard's physique, when it's his turn to stand on the rostrum, he should fetch a good price!

Leonard Chambers - Sheath 2

In this open-legged frontal pose, Leonard looks more youthful, waiting with barely controlled agitation. His abs are tensed, clenched even, producing a startling effect of connectivity running down and disappearing into the sheath, which you can now see has a simple, draw-string hem, like a purse of olden days. It's a matter of taste whether this clever effect turns you on but it brings out something more widely appreciated - that the model's lower torso is shaved completely smooth for as far as the eye can see. The sheath may provide a cloak of modesty, but it draws attention to this nakedness. He is now seated before a Moorish arch raising the spectre of a different style of enslavement. No wonder he looks worried.

Leonard Chambers - Nude 1

After the tantalising sheath, a genuine, frontal, fully nude shot posed before a classical column.

We are fortunate that quite a lot of AMG images of Leonard like this have survived.

He looks relaxed and confident here having comfortably passed the male nudity size test.

Leonard Chambers - Nude 2

This image posed with a curtain pole brings out the full extent of Leonards shoulder development and upper body bulk. Model's training techniques in those days seemed to produce physiques with a natural, most attractive 'plushness'. Once again there's a vague connection with the bondage theme of this post, 

the pole keeps the model's hands out of the way behind him and leaves his treasure trove unprotected. You only have to image his wrists being tied to the pole.

Leonard Chambers - Nude 3

This image creates a dramatically different torso effect. With Leonard's arm raised we see the intensely detailed muscles and stand-out veins of a body-builder training for competition by shedding fat. Presumably this is the same shoot as Nude 1, but the effect couldn't be more different. 

Again there's a hint at bondage restraint, tied to the column.

Leonard Chambers - Rope 1

There's a strange affinity between naked men and thick rope. I suppose it hints at masculine labours. Leonard here looks back fearfully as if expecting a whiplash any minute to make him pull harder. 

Rope also has a phallic quality for those inclined to see it (especially when it's dangling just in front of the model's pouch). It alludes to bondage fetish too although this one is really too thick for that purpose.

Leonard Chambers - Sailor with Rope 

Ropes like this are also inextricably linked with with sailing ships and sailors and few gay models escaped from beefcake posing sessions without having had to don the US Navy's distinctive sailor cap. This image was probably inspired by the many War movies of the era which showed bare chested, hunky sailors sweating under the pacific sun. Leonard looks as if he's trying to diligently perform a routine task in the nude (acting on perverse orders) but without losing his modesty. It makes a charming image, suggesting a man of sensitivity, needing protection and whom anyone might fall for. 

Leonard Chambers - Nude 4

This was the barely legal nude in the 50's. It can be seen as a prissy, slightly feminine pose but Leonard gives it a great deal of dignity, preserving his modesty with a slightly anxious expression that suggests he's waiting for the call which will may oblige him to reveal all. Maybe an instruction to mount the rostrum he's standing on. His oily skin lends his lean physique a harder look here. The absence of hair on his flat, lower abdomen again creates a subtly erotic accent of total nudity. 

Leonard Chambers - Pouch

This version of the sitting pose is rather less dignified, positively coquettish, but it's interesting to see a very typical 50's glamour pose for ladies performed by a male. The angling of the lower body modestly obscures a woman's 'sensitive' areas but makes a man look uncharacteristically coy without hiding anything. The pouch too is less much elegant than a bikini but looks sexily loaded. If you've fallen in love with him, this image won't change your mind!

~

For more vintage bondage and related mitchmen posts click on the labels below

Vintage Bondage - James Seely

James Seely by Kris - 1

In this 1965 picture by Kris of Chicago, James Seely looks every inch like the military man who's just come into the studio to pose for some skin pix and earn himself some extra cash. His muscularity and USMC tattoo mark him out as a man who can look after himself. The jock he's wearing is reassuringly masculine and there's a certain casual confidence in this open-legged pose. As a winner of the Mr Florida title, Seely was well used to displaying his physique. But there's a look in his eye here that's a little wary and he's clinging to the stool as if not quite secure.

James Seely by Kris - 2

In this picture he shows his military background with a confident, casual pose and rebellious gesture. We don't really know if know if the finger was a spontaneous reaction to provocative banter or if it was deliberately posed by Kris. However, given at arms length here, it seems like a half-hearted, sly response to being ordered around, whilst still obediently holding the pose. Seely's submissive and questioning expression makes it look more like an invitation than a rebuke.

James Seely by Kris - 3

In this picture we can see that the garment protecting James's modesty is only the remnants of a jockstrap, curiously adapted to a posing pouch (a puzzling phenomenon of the 1960's that I explored in mitchmen's Vintage Season, Part 11). This leaning back pose puts his whole torso on display and James looks abashed, as if this is not quite what a man should do. He puffs out his chest in a show of military manliness but holds the stool for support, protecting his rear, but perhaps not realising just how grabbable and appealing his lean physique and slender waist looks.

James Seely by Kris - 4

If the model felt discomforted by the self display of the previous pose, it's even worse here with his crotch thrust forward, offering himself up to the gaze of strangers. It seems to show in that irritated, 'what's going on?' expression. He's bound to feel vulnerable, because he cannot protect himself in this position and getting out of it requires awkward, undignified manoeuvres. That helplessness makes for a very sexy picture and (unknown to him) Kris has ensured that his jock-pouch stands out, virgin-white against the background. The bulge it reveals is necessarily modest by modern standards, because of the legal constraints of the day, but it won't necessarily have felt like that to him.

The magic Kris weaves using this elegant, art nouveau style stool is a tribute to his artistic skill.

James Seely by Kris - 5

   Next, Kris introduces dangling chains and persuades Seely to strike a classic body-building pose with them wrapped round his wrists. He looks like a captive slave being presented for sale or made ready for punishment. The subterfuge of combining classical art and modern fitness imagery was probably intended to confuse the model just as much as it was the censors and Seely's wonderfully expressive face suggests it's had exactly that effect - with an dash of apprehension thrown in. 

Kris got Seely to change into a 'proper' posing pouch for this part of shoot. It better suits the allusion to slavery, but the flimsy material is more directly revealing than coarse, jock fabric and it probably felt that way to James as he slipped his tackle into it. There's even a slight impression that it might even have been pre-wetted, Royale style, to enhance it's clinginess. That might have contributed to the model's pained expression. Kris has drawn attention to it with some clever lighting. 

James looks big, strong and powerful in this perspective, worthy of being restrained with chains. 

It's a dramatic physical contrast to his poses with the stool, but he looks no less vulnerable.

James Seely by Kris - 6

This picture may look familiar, I used it 18 months ago in The Abandoned Slave, a captioned post spoofing the pretended restraint in bondage imagery of the mid 20th century. Kris seems to be doing the same himself with the dangling chain end looking for an anchorage and humorously phallic. Seely contributes a delightful, puzzled expression. The trailing chains rising up between his open legs are not devoid of erotic significance either.

Kris has subtly accentuated the shape of Seely's pouch here by allowing a drooping shadow to fall across it, but it's far from prominent (compare it with the jock cupping in image 4). Rather it helps create a sense of near nudity in Seely's willowy physique. 

James Seely by Kris - 7

That sense of flexibility flows through this image too with James seeming to be trapped in the chains and twisting to look back at us pleadingly. The first sight of his backside is a treat, no wonder he looks so worried! That's not the only significant development here because in this image he actually is completely naked. The pouch has gone the way of the jock leaving only a tell tale line across his glute.

James Seely by Kris - 8

Seely playfully wraps the chains around himself, protecting his modesty in the frontal view.

His physique looks mellow and attractive here and is enhanced by the spiralling chains.

His face is a picture of uncertainty, this is how you would imagine a captive to look

 on the auction block as the bidding fury mounts.

James Seely by Kris - 9

The model's playfulness emerges more clearly here. 

Seely's back is the most impressive result of his bodybuilding but it's the buttock cleft

 that draws your eye, thanks to Kris's adroit arrangement of the chains. 

I suppose you might describe this as an early manifestation of the tentacle effect,

with the victim unable to decide what to do about it.

James Seely by Kris - 10

Freed from the chains, Seely presses his hands together to bring out the bulk of his back.

As with image 5, he seems to shrink into a surprising, more compact shaping.

Personally I prefer the slender look.

This pose also creates the frivolous impression that he's anxiously covering his modesty

 and looking round for the missing pouch.

Kris probably photographed full frontal images during this shoot, but the time had not yet arrived when he could advertise them or publish them openly in the beefcake press. However, nude studies of this model do exist and my next post will include some along with other examples of his delightful facial expressions.

Continued in Part 2

images courtesy of Tim InVermont and enhanced by mitchmen.

Vintage Bondage - James Dunn

Punishments on the farm were simple but severe.

Doubly so for runaway slaves.

Jim had been a rebel from the start.

Condemned to a year of penal service

He had to be dragged to the auction block.

His resistance was foolish, but understandable.

Just a few weeks before, Jimmy had been as free as a bird.

Happy and popular with his friends and workmates at the Bank.

His biggest problem then was deciding which tie to wear each morning.

Then came that speeding ticket and a run-in with a vindictive cop.

The attendants eventually cajoled Jim onto the auction block

Posing half-heartedly with their spit trickling down his torso.

Yearlings don't usually fetch much as labourers

But Jim's pugnacious looks and spirit 

ensured a well-contested sale.

When Jimmy got to the Farm he found he'd been picked out by the farmer's wife.

She thought Jim was cute, just like her son who had recently gone off to college.

Jim was to take his place, helping out with work in the fields.

The wife dressed Jim in a slave pouch for his registration and ID card photo.

She'd made it herself, especially for him, from one of her son's old jock straps.

Jim had to do heavy field work during the day

But in the evening he was often summoned by the Farmer's wife.

She wanted to take pictures of him for the family album

Just like the ones she'd taken of her son over the years.

She loved taking pictures of Jim.

She always supervised Jim's bath night which was once a week in cold water.

She fastidiously checked that he'd washed his tackle properly and every crevice.

She even snapped him in the bath and turned it into a postcard

So he could send it to his family and friends and tell them how happy he was.

Happy Days on the Farm!

But Jimmy wasn't happy working on the Farm, he ran away.

Almost immediately a kid on the beach spotted his slave pouch.

He tried to arrest him, to get the bounty for catching runaways.

It turned into quite a scrap.

But Jim was desperate and his work had made him fitter.

Jimmy managed to get away and immediately got rid of his pouch

But naked men stood out even more than pouched ones.

The municipal Slave Catcher soon caught up with him

Jimmy spent two nights in the pound before being collected.

When he got back, Jim had to see the Farmer to learn his punishment.

The Farmer's wife snapped him, tired and downcast, while he was waiting.

Her picture later won a commendation at the local Photographic Club Exhibition.

She was glad to see him back, but scolded him for losing the pouch she'd made.

She promised to make him a new one from one of her son's old T-shirts.

The Farmer taught Jim a severe lesson for running away

and the Court automatically doubled his sentence.

Thereafter his owner ensured he would never escape again.

And his wife recorded every moment for the family album.

~

Photos of James Dunn by Kris of Chicago

All pictures enhanced by mitchmen

Vintage Bondage - Vince Orlandini

Vince Orlandini by Kris (1957)

This image conjures up the fetish of jungle capture and prisoner of war tortures. The much maligned posing pouch fits quite well into this scenario and this is nicely compact and inoffensive example worn by a man with an appealing 'guy next door' look and an attractive physique. Kris has ingeniously used two poles to get round the practicalities of arranging tethering points but Vince is genuinely tied to them, which isn't always the case in this era.

The 'X' restraint position is very popular with fetish artists for fairly obvious reasons. Amalaric is a great fan (e.g. in Office Perks). It's not that common in solo bondage photography though. This photograph dates from 1957, when the invocation of slavery in ancient Greece and Rome was widely used by gay photographers and artists to get round repressive laws and attitudes but even so, to my knowledge, it's almost unique. Perhaps the homoerotic qualities of bondage and the way the X pose draws attention to a barely hidden groin was just too daring as a combination. Kris promoted it as part of a set, but I've not found any other examples of this model in bondage. 

See also Peter George from Royale Studio in the early sixties

Vince Orlandini by Kris (1957)

This is the best picture of Vince that I have been able to find. 

He boasts an elegant shapely physique with unusually large nipples.

Vince Orlandini by Kris (1957)

An unremarkable but stately pose

Is enlivened by shapely pecs and pouch.

Vince Orlandini by Kris (1957)

This image is quite interesting, I'm a fan of men in gym shorts 

although these are not particularly brief nor snug fitting. 

I'm not sure whether he's pulling something out of his pocket

 or has a tantalising side opening in his shorts.

For more examples of Vintage Bondage,

click on the label below

Vintage Bondage - Fred Halstead

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.