Bruce of Los Angeles (Photographer); Dolinsky, Jim (Contributor) & Ferguson, Paul (Model).

BRUCE OF LOS ANGELES: VINTAGE PHYSIQUE PHOTOGRAPHS 1949-1969 Rare Copy With Rare Copy of "The Rawhide Male" Magazine Issue.

      Berlin, Germany: Bruno Gmunder Verlag, 1990.. . Softcover. First Edition. First Printing. Fine. Rare Bruce of Los Angeles set. Copy of "Bruce of Los Angeles" Exhibition Catalog and copy of The Rawhide Male Magazine Volume 2. "Bruce of Los Angeles": Collection of male nudes. Published in a small and limited print run as a softcover original only. The first and only edition, it is now rare. A brilliant production by Bruno Gmunder Verlag: Oversize-volum e format. Pictorial softcovers with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Bruce of LA. Brief text by Jim Dolinsky. Printed on very thick coated stock paper in Berlin, Germany to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name held at Wessel O'Connor New York from December 14, 1990 through January 12, 1991. Presents some of the finest and most representative male nudes by Bruce of LA. "Bruce's influence on everyone from Robert Mapplethorpe, Herb Ritts, and Bruce Weber to Cindy Sherman and Laurie Simmons reveals not only the artist's manipulations in order to circumvent the suspicious and censorious of his time, but also demands a re-evaluation of what has recently become a more mainstream examination of conventions surrounding gender, sexual preference, and their representation" (Dennis Cooper). Bruce of LA had The Eye, and he discovered Joe Dalessandro as well as Paul Ferguson, among so many others. His residual influence on Ritts and Weber is unmistakable to this day even though his "physique" ideal has been superseded by a more raw and gritty male ideal today. "Rawhide Male Magazine": The very rare Second Issue, which features Paul Ferguson on the cover and the main model in the inside pages. A Chicago-based publication, Rawhide Male was heavily influenced by Bruce of LA, and utilized many of the same models. Kris Studio, which did most of the photography, started out as Bruce's assistant. Apart from being a model, Paul Ferguson appeared as a star in underground porn as well as bit roles in Hollywood (he aspired to be a film star). While Dalessandro went on to become Andy Warhol's muse, Paul Ferguson's career took a criminal turn. He is remembered as the murderer (with his younger brother) of the Hollywood silent film star Ramon Novarro, in one of the most sensational cases of its time. Deeply closeted, Novarro was nevertheless sexually active, and procured the services of Ferguson (who is primarily heterosexual). It is not clear how Ferguson apparently heard that Novarro had a large amount of cash stashed away in his Beverly Hills mansion. On his last assignation with Ferguson, he was slowly tortured before being killed by the Ferguson Brothers. They found25 after tearing the place apart as Novarro died. Ferguson remains in jail to this day (his brother was killed after less than a year in jail). His lean, All-American boy/man good looks belie his notoriety. The jurors at his trial had difficulty believing he committed the crime, but eventually convicted him. A "must-have" set for Bruce of LA and male nude memorabilia collectors. This copy of "Bruce of Los Angeles" has been out-of-print for almost twenty years. This is the only copy available anywhere and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. This copy of Rawhide Male Magazine is now virtually impossible to find, and is in very good condition overall. Given the grisly aftermath surrounding its cover model, it will always be collectible. A rare, one-of-a-kind set thus. One of the finest American photographers of the male nude. A fine collectible set. . ISBN 3924163650.