The Complete Reprint of Physique Pictorial books are special for a few reasons historically, artistically, and culturally.
Heres why collectors and enthusiasts value them:
---
1. Historical Significance
Physique Pictorial was first published in 1951 by Bob Mizer, founder of the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) in Los Angeles.
It was one of the earliest openly gay-oriented publications in the United Statesthough marketed as a fitness or bodybuilding magazine to get around obscenity laws.
The imagery was coded in a way that allowed gay men in the 1950s70s to connect with each other, in an era when homosexuality was heavily policed.
---
2. Artistic Value
It showcased the work of legendary homoerotic artists like Tom of Finland, George Quaintance, and Etiennemany of whom became icons in gay art and pop culture.
The photos and drawings werent just eroticthey were often staged with elaborate props, costumes, and narrative scenes, giving them a playful, theatrical edge.
Volume 3 (19681990) in particular captures the transition from the more coded, suggestive imagery of the 50s and 60s into the more openly erotic photography of the postsexual revolution era.
---
3. Cultural Impact
It provided a rare safe outlet for gay expression decades before gay rights were recognized.
The magazine influenced fashion, fitness culture, photography, and even mainstream advertising.
For many gay men in mid-century America, Physique Pictorial was their first exposure to openly homoerotic male imagery.
---
4. Why the Taschen Reprint is Special
The original magazines are rare, expensive, and often incomplete.
The Taschen complete reprint (1997) reproduces every page from 1951 to 1990 in three large-format hardcover volumes, preserving not only the photographs and drawings but also the ads, letters, and quirky editorial content.
Its essentially a complete visual archive of an underground movement that shaped gay visual culture.
---
