An Arcadian Photographer in Manhattan: Edward Mark Slocum

Description

Just before 1930 an unusual book of poems and photographs was published, apparently in New York. It was called Lads O? the Sun: Memories, and was illustrated by real photographs, tipped onto its pages, depicting naked youths in a style reminiscent of Willhelm von Gloden and his contemporaries in Southern Italy. It wasn't until the 1970s that the anonymous author and photographer was identified as Edward Mark Slocum (1886-1945), who was also responsible for the editorship of the literary anthology Men and Boys: An Anthology (1924), the first anthology of homosexual literature to be published in America. Donald Rosenthal has continued the research into Slocum's life and work and in the process has tracked down a substantial body of photographic work by him that, as the title suggests, recreates something of the Arcadian style of nude photography in the somewhat cooler climes of the State of New York. This is the first study of Slocum's photographic work, and Rosenthal puts these photos into their artistic and social context as well as telling the story of Slocum's life, unpicking his extensive use of pseudonyms and anonymity when presenting his work. This book is an important contribution to the history of photography and also to the cultural history of sexuality.[Archivist's note: This version has been edited to remove any photos which show genitalia, however artistic they may be].