Bruce of Los Angeles
Berlin: Bruno Gmünder, 1990. 1st Edition. Quarto, publisher's stiff photo-illustrated paper wraps.
Photobook by queer physique photographer Bruce Bellas. "Bruce of Los Angeles" Bellas was initially a science teacher in Nebraska before he garnered cult acclaim in the late 1940s for his magazine The Male Figure, which featured photos taken at men’s bodybuilding competitions. Bellas continued to pursue physique photography (capturing the best-known faces from the Golden Era of physique photography, such as Steve Reeves, Bob McCune, George Eiferman and Dick DuBois), as well as producing homoerotic 8mm films. Famous for his campy, irreverent "beefcake" style, Bellas is widely considered to have influenced the likes of Robert Mapplethorpe, Herb Ritts, and Bruce Weber. The present volume, the first of his work, comprises a selection of his most iconic portraits. Edited and with an introduction by executor of the Bruce Bellas Estate, Jim Dolinsky. Text in German, English, and French. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white plates. Light soiling to wraps. Near fine. Item #13611
$110.00