 |
| Dolphin Photography - Leather Merchants |
When Dolphin Photography split away from the Royale brand in 1961, 'Leather Merchants' was one of it's first photo-sets. It was a radical departure from its predecessor's work, featuring three men trying on different combinations of leather and rubber, fetishistic regalia.
The submission of this type of imagery seemed to puzzle the editors of its first publishers, the beefcake magazine, Man Alive No 11. They placed it in the middle of a men's fashion article headed 'Muscleman Gear'.
The subject was also a far cry from Royale's usual biker imagery which never featured an actual motorcycle and rarely deviated from the dress formula of leather jackets and jeans. Ron Fenn's ROF set is one exception. There is also one image in the (very early) 'The Stolen Motorcycle' storyette (1958), where a model wears a multi-buckle, broad belt similar to the one seen above. He's shown looking as if he's about to punish his co-star with a more conventional belt.
That model was Cliff Smith, and he also appears in this set, three years later, (left above). He is one of a select band of Royale models that had lengthy careers. His co-stars here are Barry Stevens (centre above), who also appeared with him in 'The Woodshed' (article pending). To the right is (I believe) Mike Ridgeway.
There is no catalogue description available for this set, the only information we have is from an ad in Fizeek No 21, which simply offered:- "Mike, Barry and Cliff with their leather gear". Quite so. With this rudimentary information, however, Barry Stevens and Cliff Smith are easily identified from appearances in other sets. Mike Ridgeway's solo sets are less conclusive, but his dates are a good fit and there are no other feasible Royale contenders called Mike. There is little by way of a road map for this set, but it does have an erotic destination.
Read 'Leather Merchants'
(link pending)
No comments:
Post a Comment