Physique. A pictorial history of the Athletic Model Guild

San Francisco : Gay Sunshine Press, 1982. Quarto, illustrated wrappers, pp. [96], illustrated with erotic photography of male nudes.

Physique Pictorial, published by Bob Mizer’s Athletic Model Guild (AMG) was the first all-male and all-nude magazine in the United States. It is an example of a ‘beefcake’ magazine which published images of athletic and attractive young men primarily for a homosexual clientele, commencing prior to the relaxation of pornography laws in the 1960s, and continuing through to the 1990s. Interestingly, the magazine editors are well aware of the controversial nature of the magazine’s content, and a number of articles relate to being the sensitivities of the material and the need for discretion in storing one’s pictorial collection. As well as homoerotic photography Physique pictorial features black and white drawings by Spartacus, Art Bob, Bill McLane, Tristrano, Ted Kenton and numerous illustrations by the legendary Tom of Finland.

Physique Pictorial ran from 1951 – 1990, during which social attitudes homosexuality, male sexuality and the depiction of the male nude saw rapid and distinct change. In this extensive run, spanning four decades, images of masculinity range from being veiled in a healthy lifestyle outdoors in the 50s where full nudity was illegal through to explicit depiction of gay subcultures such as S&M, bondage and leather fetishism of later decades and into a period where the impact of AIDS was being felt with particular brutality in the gay community.

Physique. A pictorial history of the Athletic Model Guild is a scarce lifetime compilation of Mizer’s iconic photographic depictions of male erotic masculinity.