Collection Guide
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Western Photography Guild Physique Photographs
Coll2014.124
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Western Photography Guild Physique photographs
creator:
Whitman, Don
creator:
Western Photography Guild
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2014.124
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear Feet
3 binder boxes, 718 photographic prints
Date (inclusive): circa 1950-1980s
Abstract: Physique photographic prints produced by Don Whitman and sold through his company the Western Photography Guild (WPG). WPG
sold photosets through the mail and his first advertisement appeared in
Strength and Health magazine in 1947.
Western Photography Guild was a Denver, Colorado based male physique studio operated by photographer Don Whitman. Prior to
serving in World War II, Whitman was a tax accountant and an amateur photographer. During World War II, he served in the Navy,
where he met an experienced physique model. The physique model explained the ins-and-outs of the business to Whitman, who
decided to capitalize on the business after World War II ended.
Whitman partnered with his brother-in-law, who worked for the photographic reproduction department of the Colorado State Highway
Department. They advertised for muscular models in the local paper and received a surprisingly large response. Later in April
1947, they placed the first advertisement for Western Photography Guild in
Strength and Health magazine.
Whitman's photography was notable for its use of Colorado's mountain landscape as a backdrop, feeding into the mythos of rugged,
western masculinity. In addition to photographing his models, Whitman founded the Mr. Colorado bodybuilding contest and served
as its director from 1950 to 1972. WPG did not sell full frontal nudes of their models. In 1967, following the favorable Supreme
Court ruling on nudity, WPG began selling its "naturale" series of photographs, featuring current and past models in the nude.
Whitman continued photographing models into the early 1980s, finally closing the studio in 1989. Don Whitman died in June
1998.
Source:
Whitman, Don.
Mountain Men: The Male Photography of Don Whitman. London: Editions Aubrey Walter, 1991.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Photographs aggregated from collections and donations to the archives.
[Item, box binder #] Western Photography Guild Physique Photographs, Coll2014-124, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC
Libraries, University of Southern California.
Collection processed by Brad Bradley, Steve Fritch, Robert Graves, David Hensley, Christian Morales, and Michael C. Oliveira,
November 2014.
The WPG numbering system does not appear to be consistant. The majority of the "Series" include numbered sets of different
models, each set would then include a number images of the same model. For example Series 2 included 12 different models/sets
and each set included a model in different poses. Some "Series" consist of a single model in different poses.
The collection consists of Western Photography Guild physique photographic prints.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Western Photography Guild, Studios and Distributors Marketing Materials Collection, Coll2012-170, ONE National Gay & Lesbian
Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
The photographs are arranged by the Western Photography Guild's (WPG) numbering system.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographs
Photography of men
Gay erotic photography
Whitman, Don
Western Photography Guild