Strong Man: Vintage Photos of a Masculine Icon

FINALIST for the 2002 Lambda Literary Award in Photography/Visual Arts! Assembled from a world-class collection of rare vintage photographs spanning the 1880s to the early 1950s, Strongman showcases images of the famous and the forgotten. Herculean specimens abound: Tony Sansone (The Most Beautiful Man in America), Eugene Sandow (The Strongest Man in the World), and fitness mogul Jack Lalanne all bulk in, testing the elasticity of their posing garb. Alongside these professional competitors are equally fascinating period snapshots that provide a candid peak at anonymous muscular men aspiring to the icon. The photos in Strongman depict a wide variety of scenarios: There are wrestlers locked in gladiatorial combat, acrobats linked in human pyramids, and bronzed beach buddies rough-housing in the sand. Strongman is a photographic celebration of the evolving ideal of the male form.