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ITEM: A wonderful and rare original 1924 erotic fine art sepia toned double weight gelatin silver photograph by ALBERT ARTHUR ALLEN an image from the Berkeley Ca. photographers 1924 folio titled “Sex Appeal.” In this series his models appeared in varying degrees of dress and of course undress sort of a burlesque fashion show themed grouping. Our lovely flapper girl here is fully clothed which is odd for those familiar with AAA and his images in an artful relaxed pose.The coloring and clarity on this is outstanding – this is the original and antique document from 1924 an antique gelatin silver rare photograph. The verso has a stamp identifying the model as Model – C
A DOUBLE WEIGHT FIRST GENERATION ANTIQUE PHOTOGRAPH WHICH MEASURES AN UNCROPPED AND COMPLETE 8″ BY 10″ WITH MARGINS
CONDITION : IN VERY GOOD – FINE ARCHIVED CONDITION SOME SILVERING IN THE EMULSION — A RARE SURVIVING FINE ART ANTIQUE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH THAT EXHIBITS GREAT CLARITY AND TONING CAPTURING THE OUTRAGEOUS ALLURE OF THE FLAPPER GIRL.
“There is, of course, a fine distinction between the non-essential nude and the true nude. The non-essential nude is a picture which has no message to speak. While the true nude gives a version of beauty, both physical and spiritual-two great needs of humanity.”
– Albert Arthur Allen
During the 1920s, a time when the United States was, from all appearances, open to artistic experimentation, a Bay Area photographer named Albert Arthur Allen unwittingly took on the Goliath of nudity and politics. An obscure figure who operated outside the margins of the fine art community, Allen was known to a small coterie of clients who bought boudoir studies, pictures of comely young voluptuaries. A homespun aesthetician who had a marked propensity for self-invention, Allen produced photographic portfolios that were initially inspired by the naturist movement.
Allen’s work is often referred to as “boudoir photography”. The poses are very academic, designed as compositions, perhaps with a tale to tell, as well as carefully posed studies of the female form. The images are delicate and exhibit a fine control over the photographic process. Allen had no great artistic pretensions and was something of a ‘naturist.’
Almost all of Albert Arthur Allen’s women have bobbed coiffures — short hair marked with art deco swirls. He was a refugee of a wealthy New England family, as well as the victim of a San Francisco motorcycle accident that left him a hunched-over gimp. That said, from 1915 to 1930, Allen compelled hundreds of California girls to drop their knickers and pose naked. He was not shooting dirty pictures. He believed sex appeal was “human appeal.” He also believed “the true nude gives a version of beauty, both physical and spiritual — two great needs of humanity.”
IN LATER YEARS ALLEN WAS PROSECUTED AND IMPRISONED FOR VIOLATING DECENCY ACTS IN CALIFORNIA, HE IS NOW HERALDED AS A PIONEER AND HIS PHOTOS ARE OF COURSE COVETED AND COLLECTED TODAY BY ADVANCED COLLECTORS
A great coffee table book titled “Premiere Nudes” – “Albert Arthur Allen and the Great American Nude” is also in print that chronicles this peculiar lad and more importantly the beautiful San Francisco area models he photographed during the roaring 20’s .
WE WILL BE LISTING MANY IMPORTANT WORKS BY THIS VANGUARD PHOTOGRAPHER. THE PHOTOGRAPHIC STILL YOU HAVE SEEN IN LISTING AND WE HAVE REFERRED TO IN TEXT ABOVE SELLS ALONE .
THE ACCOMPANYING MATERIAL IS SHOWN HERE FOR REFERENCE ONLY AND SHOW THE PHOTOGRAPH TO BE THE WORK OF ALBERT ARTHUR ALLEN. THEY ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE AUCTION. THE STILL IS GUARANTEED ORIGINAL AND A FIRST GENERATION ARCHIVED ANTIQUE GELATIN SILVER PHOTOGRAPH.
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