To my readers......

SITE UPDATE NOTICE

Thanks for visiting mitchmen, home of Mitchell's Gay Art

The Caps and Collars/ Flat Cap Gang story at Google Groups has been on a break since January,
I am working on it and hope to resume shortly. (see Group News for link)

Link to the Royale Studio Archive in the right sidebar


Message updated 6th Sept 2024

Thursday, 25 October 2012

Royale Studio No 18 - The Scout - Part 3 (Article superseded)

This article has been revised and transferred to the Royale Studio blog by mitchmen

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The dreaded hand on hip pose is never far away in male beefcake shots but this one provides another opportunity to study the revealing contours of that impressive bulge and the model's meaty legs. His head seems curiously oversize in these frontal shots making for a very strange effect.

It's hard to know what to make of this imagery across a space of 50 years. Despite the boyish subject matter, there's no sense of anything under-age here. Royale commonly depicted spanking situations and used uniforms to invoke ideas of obedience and control, but discipline was virtually non-existent in the Scout movement, it was a voluntary, leisure pursuit - so I doubt that connection is being made here. The air of authority in this picture makes me wonder if we are looking here not at a Scout, but at a Scout Leader. In those, unreconstructed days, Scouts and Scout Leaders were often the butt of jokes about unsavoury activities around the camp fire - along the same lines as boarding school dorm jokes. I suspect these images were intended to appeal to men who relished that fantasy - of being seduced by the handsome Scout Master - over that handy bale of hay, no doubt.

This model appears in other Royale sets where he looks a good deal less intimidating than this. I've not yet been able to name him. Any info from readers would be welcome.

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Royale Studio No18 - The Scout part 2 (Article superseded)

This article has been revised and transferred to the Royale Studio blog by mitchmen

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In this rear view, the model looks more youthful, with an attractive kiss curl detached from his fashionable quiff, in the style of James Dean. From behind, the tight clothing works on a slightly more subtle level as he appears to be assessing whether it makes him look more sexy. There's a sense here of an adult recapturing the thrill of adolescence and of schoolboy memories of desire for sexy, older boys.

The tight fit of the clothes in these pictures is not just down to a man wearing boy's clothing, the whole outfit has been completely re-tailored to achieve this effect. The sleeves and legs have been shortened of course, but the seams of both shirt and shorts have also been taken in. This has produced the non-standard 'wasp waist' on the shirt and shows even more obviously in the unusually prominent, rear trouser seam. Alterations to produce a sexier fit on the model were the norm at Royale Studio, the sewing machine must have been red hot at times! You can see too that it's been immaculately ironed.

 
For previous articles in this series see preceding post. For other articles covering other 'Royale Studio' and 'Guys In Uniform' pictures click on the GIU/Royale label below.

Monday, 22 October 2012

Royale Studio 18 - The Scout (Article superseded)

This article has been revised and transferred to the Royale Studio blog by mitchmen 

In the last couple of posts I made a link between Boy Scout imagery and the famous Royale Studios that produced military erotica in the 1950's. In fact Royale used the Scouting theme on more than one occasion. The normal age of Scouts puts them well out of bounds for the purposes of erotica and rightly so. Fortunately, Royale used models for their Scout series who were indisputably adult and the one in the set below is not remotely boyish. 

 
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I only have 4 pictures from this set but I imagine there were probably more. The Scout shirt and accessories from the waist upwards look absolutely genuine but it's hard to tell if the shorts are. Royale always strove for authenticity in it's uniforms but the effect is marred here by the socks which would not be rolled right down to the ankle but would be worn long and turned down just below the knee, like rugby socks. I'm not sure about the beret in his hand, bush hat headgear with a pointed, tent-shaped crown was often worn by Scouts in the UK.

In the jokey fashion of the day, the model is depicted as being bewildered at having to wear this unusual outfit. These days fashion models will wear any ridiculous clothing on the catwalk, but in the Royale era 'men were men' and to be asked to dress as a mere boy would be pretty demeaning. Having put the clothes on, the manly bulge revealed in his shorts would be equally disturbing. We can assume this man has shed such inhibitions, but the Royale liked to play with the idea of the photographer's power over his model, knowing it would tittilate more conservative viewers.

Bulges in pants were not unusual, Scott studios were also notable exponents, but this one is particularly explicit in shape. It hardly counts as 'hidden eroticism' but a close inspection of the shadowing reveals just a hint of cockhead.

continued in next post.................

For previous articles in this series covering 'Royale Studio' and 'Guys In Uniform' click on the GIU/Royale label below.





Thursday, 11 October 2012

Short Shorts

 
Pursuing the scouting theme, I found this picture on the Boys in Short Shorts blog, which has a quite a collection of scouting images and some surprisingly short shorts that rekindle memories from adolescence. 

This splendid rugby player comes from the same source.

Monday, 8 October 2012

Vintage style shorts

Those of you who follow my periodic posts of 'Royale Studio' work from the 50's may do a double-take seeing this picture which captures many characteristics of that era. Open shirt, short shorts and pouty model sporting a sexy kiss curl, but it's a brand new picture.

Skimpy shorts like these are a rare beast these days but when filled with chunky thighs they have always been a big turn on for me.

 In this softer pose the outfit acquires something of a 'Scout-y' flavour. Ready to earn a few badges? I've always thought a Brigade of Man Scouts like this would attract an eager following for Church Parades. As a form of community service for older male delinquents it would be very popular and might even do them some good.

Photo's of Marco Solvo, courtesy of Simon Barnes' Hotsnapz

Thursday, 20 September 2012

Mitchmen invade the Aquatic Centre

'Piss Pool Discipline' by Mitchell

My latest picture in the Olympic Scrapbook series (which hasn't quite staggered over the finishing line yet!) was inspired by Ryan Lochte who 'confessed' to pissing in the pool, supposedly to mark his territory. Unfortunately the soldiers drafted in to maintain security at the Games took a dim view of such laxity in young men (no, laxity not laxative). This swimmer, emulating his hero during a training session at the pool, was caught in the act, exposed by secret detection devices planted in the water. Now, tightly bound and trembling, he faces a dose of British Army discipline.......details of which will be revealed in forthcoming sequels at the mitchmen Yahoo! group
Take it from me, he won't be doing it again!
(see sidebar for more about the Yahoo! Group)

Monday, 17 September 2012

Jeremy's University Challenge




 The students of Kinky College, Mitchester were beaten (250 to 5) by Snooty College, Cambridge in the first round of University Challenge. They blamed their resounding defeat on Jeremy Paxman's harsh application of the rules. As luck would have it Jeremy was booked to address their Student Union the following week and Electrical Engineering Student, Christian Wilde gave him an impromptu tour of the labs. For once, Jeremy was at a loss for words when Christian showed him his starter for 10, with a pain bonus to follow.

With apologies to Jeremy Paxman and Bound Gods.