Strong Man: Vintage Photos of a Masculine Icon [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Robert Mainardi (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

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.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

150 vintage portraits & snapshots of famous amateur strongmen, many never-before-published.

About the Author

Robert Mainardi edited The Naked Heartland: The Itinerant Photography of Bruce of L.A., and provided many of the images in Council Oak's Sailor: Vintage Photos of a Masculine Icon, from his Magazine Archive. He lives in San Francisco, CA.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Council Oak Books (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571781013
• ISBN-13: 978-1571781017
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than you'd think, September 24, 2001

By 

Jason Knapp (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strong Man: Vintage Photos of a Masculine Icon (Hardcover)

Mainardi's picture book is more than the vintage beefcake photos I'd expected. His introductory essay is a wonderful personal reflection on the power these images had on him as a boy, shaping both his erotic and aesthetic sensibilities for the rest of his life. In that context, the photos become a kind of study in the masculine ideal; any gay man -- and perhaps many straight men and women -- can find in them the sparks to light up distant sense memories and the dim images we buried in our dreams as children: everything from real body builders to guys like our fathers, uncles and brothers, hamming it up in front of a camera on the beach. A really great little book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Collection Worth Owning Now Available in Print, June 19, 2001

By 

BigKugels Photographic (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strong Man: Vintage Photos of a Masculine Icon (Hardcover)

Would you like to feel as if you own one of the finest collections of early strongmen photographs? Then, own this book. Not only are the images well chosen and exquisitely reproduced, but also Mainardi has documented the photographers and their subjects with the details that come only from the storehouse of a true collector. His introduction is as intimate as it is informative and thoughtfully written. Mainardi's selection of images, as well as his choice of title holder Jules Bacon to write his forward, anchors this volume far more deeply in the lexicon of physique photography than many of the books being produced today. We look forward to seeing what he has in store for us next.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FASCINATING, TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO A TIME PAST, July 9, 2001

By 

SF RAGE (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strong Man: Vintage Photos of a Masculine Icon (Hardcover)

With this book, Robert Mainardi has produced a marvelous and valuable addition to the history of photography and bodybuilding. This slim (but fully packed, nonetheless) volume contains many priceless physique photographs from the late 19th century to the 1950s-60s. Every page astonishes with the variety and quality of the collection that Mainardi has put together over many years. Some photographs are humorous (to our 21st century minds), some seriously dramatic and beautiful, but all are worth more than one look. One or two of the photos are bitter-sweet in the way they capture an earlier, more innocent and trusting time. Mainardi has written an essay, an introduction of sorts, that lays the foundation for why he collects, as well as some background on the field and people in question. I can't recommend this book srongly enough; it is great to own, and great to give as a gift to someone with an interest in photography, bodybuilding or history.