men_in_full ([info]men_in_full) wrote,
2009-06-03 22:26:00
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More fat men in vintage postcards

Earlier I posted about fat men in vintage postcards.

I don't know what it is about fat guys and bowling, but the theme comes up often. It's one of the few illustration themes which show fat men in motion, or in different body postures than simply standing or sitting. In other words, fat men bowling are dynamic, not static; active, not passive. In this one below, the man's large rear is prominent and graceful; he balances lightly on slender feet with a motion which almost looks like dance:





This fellow has a dynamic armswing; the illustrator catches him just at that moment where a bowler seems to almost lose his balance:





In too many modern illustrations, fat men are shown alone (often in front of the television eating), yet these bowling men are often shown in the middle of a group, like this one composition by the German illustrator Arthur Thiele.






In this amusing montage by Thiele, groups of men do different sports, and fat men are included in the mix. (Sorry it's so small.)



By contrast, in this French postcard the slender man in the foreground ogles the girl, while the fat bowler stands quietly in the background.





Bowling and cigars seem to go along together almost as closely as bowling illustrations with fat men:




Tags: history, illustration

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  • 22 comments

[info]wooferstl

June 4 2009, 03:34:49 UTC 2 years ago

another great collection, Stef! WOOF!

[info]men_in_full

June 4 2009, 03:42:11 UTC 2 years ago

So glad you liked!

[info]progbear

June 4 2009, 05:21:01 UTC 2 years ago

Nice photos again, where on Earth do you keep finding them? The top image is nice, and I rather wish I could see that man’s face, as you just know he has a nice moustache. And the man on the bottom (pun definitely intended) can be my silver-bearded, cigar-puffing, round-bottomed daddy any time!

[info]progbear

June 4 2009, 19:02:08 UTC 2 years ago

D’oh! It should have said “round-rumped”! I forgot the first rule of bad writing: always go for the cheap alliteration!

[info]men_in_full

June 4 2009, 22:01:22 UTC 2 years ago

Hey, alliteration was good enough for Beowulf, why not us today? :D

Round-bottomed or round-rumped both work.

[info]men_in_full

June 4 2009, 21:58:56 UTC 2 years ago

I found these over the years on various vintage postcard sites, or on blogs. Some I found by searching on "Arthur Thiele." Mostly I just search ... and search ... and search. It takes a long time, which is why I don't post as often as I'd like.

I thought the shot from behind (first image) was really nice, too, and pretty unusual.

[info]greybeta

June 4 2009, 10:50:57 UTC 2 years ago

As a history student, I find these fascinating! Simply amazing. Also, it reminds me that I haven't gone bowling in a while. =)

[info]men_in_full

June 4 2009, 21:59:32 UTC 2 years ago

There are many good-looking big men to be found at bowling alleys, even though I don't bowl myself.

Anonymous

June 4 2009, 14:07:44 UTC 2 years ago

faux-vintage, but this flier for London club/event the Insomniac's Ball made me smile, and think of you.

[info]men_in_full

June 4 2009, 22:00:11 UTC 2 years ago

Ummmm, nice! :D

[info]inlaterdays

June 4 2009, 14:12:03 UTC 2 years ago

These are gorgeous! For some reason, the sporting collection in the middle reminds me of that Wodehouse story where Bertie is stuck in the country, betting on the village fair contests because there are no horse races...a fat kid from the village is secretly the best athlete and is therefore his ace in the hole. :)

/babble

[info]men_in_full

June 4 2009, 22:04:55 UTC 2 years ago

Thanks! I like how in Thiele's big group shots, the fat guys are just *included* - not necessarily the guys suffering the pratfalls (although there are a lot of visual fat-guy fat jokes re: bowling postcards, which I passed over on this go-around.)

Haven't read that story, but it sounds good, and somewhat similar to the premise behind the Tubby Schaumann detective story; that the fat guy surprises everyone by being more adroit than they think, be it in athletics or in sleuthing.

[info]jennie_jay

June 5 2009, 16:01:53 UTC 2 years ago

These are so sweet. Vintage postcards have so much more personality than new ones.

Hee hee, that French one is cheeky (groans)... the men are playing Pétanque, and the text says:

"Dites ma belle, si je perds vous voulez bien être Fanny?"

Hey, my pretty one, if I lose, would you mind being Fanny?"

The losing team in sports would have to "baise Fanny", "kiss Fanny", which would be a painting of a naked bottom.

"Baiser Fanny", to kiss Fanny, is an expression for losing a match, but I don't know if it's in use today.

[info]men_in_full

June 5 2009, 16:34:36 UTC 2 years ago

Thanks so much for translating!

Is Pétanque what the British call "lawn bowling?"

LOL, so French! I had seen the phrase on some of the bowling cards, and didn't know what it meant. It probably isn't used anymore (well, maybe it still is in France!)

[info]jennie_jay

June 5 2009, 16:50:32 UTC 2 years ago

I've seen pétanque played mostly on gravel, I really don't know if it's the same game as the English played on grass... it's some kind of bowls, anyway..

As to the origins of kissing Fanny.... Story goes that a brasserie in a small town had a very pretty barmaid. When someone won at bowls/pétanque, she'd reward them with a kiss, the traditional French cheek kiss, mwah, mwah. And mwah. With a tickly moustache, I hope. One day, the unpopular mayor won the game, and came to claim his kiss. To insult him, the barmaid stood on a chair, turned her back and raised her skirt. He wasn't deterred but planted two hearty kisses on her ... cheeks.... Then tradition changed when the real barmaid was replaced by a painting, or by a model of a woman's derrière, and it was the loser who had to kiss it.

Googled a bit, and it's still a current expression (and possibly tradition) in France...

[info]men_in_full

June 5 2009, 19:16:31 UTC 2 years ago

Virtual brownies if you work that into a Phantom of the Opera drabble sometime ... :D

[info]jennie_jay

June 5 2009, 19:47:47 UTC 2 years ago

Oh dear, evil evil Stefanie... And just who do you want to lose that game of pétanque???

[info]men_in_full

June 12 2009, 00:50:32 UTC 2 years ago

All kinds of wicked possibilities come to mind; one of the worst involves a contest between the guys in the tuxedos at the Opera, and the ballet girls. Much champagne needs to be involved. And either Philippe or Sorelli's rear end gets kissed - can't decide which. :D

[info]jennie_jay

June 5 2009, 16:56:46 UTC 2 years ago

Oops, got it wrong, it wasn't the winner who got to kiss Fanny, it was the loser, who was comforted by the kind-hearted barmaid, with a peck on the cheek....

[info]men_in_full

June 12 2009, 00:51:09 UTC 2 years ago

Sounds like it really softened the blow of losing, LOL.

[info]my_daroga

June 10 2009, 22:14:45 UTC 2 years ago

I don't really have anything to say about these, except thank you for always finding stuff like this. I haven't formulated and social theories or anything but I find this exploration fascinating. The way we see ourselves, and each other, over time.

[info]men_in_full

June 12 2009, 00:53:06 UTC 2 years ago

You're welcome ... half of it I don't really set out to find; I just stumble upon it during searches.

I don't have that many theories either, not usually - with this it was just, "Wow, look at all those fat guys bowling! Cool!" It only occurred to me later that these were some of the very few representations of fat men in *motion,* as opposed to sitting or lying down. (Sumo wrestlers are another exception; they involve movement too.)
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