This is a rare vintage and out of print copy of The Naked Heartland: The Itinerant Photography of Bruce of Los Angeles, with text by KEVIN BENTLEY, edited by ROBERT MAINARDI and published and distributed by Janssen Verlag in 2001 featuring the nude male photography of photographer BRUCE OF LOS ANGELES / BRUCE OF LA / BRUCE BELLAS. This 128 page HARDCOVER book and DUST JACKET measure 8.5 x 0.75 x 11 inches. See photos for condition.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Bruce Harry Bellas, or, as he was better known, Bruce of Los Angeles, was born July 7, 1909, in Auburn, Nebraska.
He attended college in that state, and then earned his living as a high school chemistry teacher.

Bruce began his celebrated physique photography work in earnest in 1947, obtaining the first business license for his studio in California in 1948. He had already made several trips west earlier in the 40s, and it was on one such trip that he was arrested for taking nude photos of a male model, probably outdoors, and while the incident was not serious and did not result in more than a fine, authorities did notify the school back in Nebraska where Bruce had been teaching, and he was forced to resign his position. This undoubtedly helped motivate Bruce's permanent move to California.

Prior to his West Coast fame, however, and before the development of his formal studio style, Bruce had for some time been travelling around his home state photographing men for pleasure and possibly for private resale. He is believed to have picked up hitchhikers who he then asked to pose for him, outdoors or in hotel rooms.

An acquaintance of that time recalls Bruce claiming that any man would drop his pants merely for the promise of a free photo. He'd develop and print the film him-self in the bathroom, presenting his model with a photo as agreed.
The images reproduced here were taken in the late 30s in the Nebraska area.

Bruce's models were young men he picked up in his travels around the state, many. of them in the military.
Some of the models, usually the active partner in the more explicit photographs, were friends and acquaintances. The six original Kodak albums from which most of this selection of photos were taken were Bruce's personal collection, as well as perhaps being “sample books" from which buyers could order prints (and likely included a small number of early prints by other, anonymous photographers).

These casual, often outdoors nudes, so different from the later stylized physique portraits for which Bruce become known among beekcake photography aficionados, provide both an erotic charge and a kind of social dokumentation. They showcase a series of highly individual and beautiful men in the most realistic of settings, and they open a window onto the hidden bodies and desires, both frank and innocent, of pre-World War II midwestern men. The negative collections preserved with these albums also includes photos of
Bruce's relatives, street scenes, high school or college athletic events, and scenic shots taken on his trips.

Bruce Bellas died July 14, 1974 photographing cowboys at a rodeo in Banff, Alberta, Canada, in the company of his model Scotty Cunningham.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Due to recent delivery issues with the USPS I now ship all items via Priority Mail. $100 of insurance is included in this price. I’m selling my collection of vintage 1960-1980s gay pulp paperback novels, pictorial & hardcore magazines, physique photography, magazines & artwork.