Muscle Mary(a)s

Russian archivists recently discovered a huge archive of homoerotic photographs documenting the early years of that country's proto-gay culture. Dating back to 1860 and containing nearly a half million images, the St. Petersburg Archive includes material created by pioneering photographer Karl Bulla, "the first to record the discreet gay culture to which tsarist Russia turned a blind eye" according to the Guardian this week. (Unfortunately like so many artists, he later vanished in the Stalinist purges.) Almost makes us wish there was such a thing as a time machine after all ...-RM

· "Muscle Maryas" (guardian.co.uk; see gallery here)
· Lions and Tigers and Vintage Russian Bears, Oh My! (rjr10036.typepad.com; also spotted @ Towleroad)

Previously: The Golden Age of Iron Men, Flickr Gay Vintage Photostream, Vintage Gay Porn: Groovy Guys, B-Movie Beefcake, Retro Muscle, Art: Hugh Elliott, Athletic Model Guild Wrestling, Athletic Model Guild DVDs