Fred and William Ritter

In the 1930's, Fred and William Ritter, brothers who lived in Astoria, Long Island, New York, advertised physique photographs in fitness magazines like Strength and Health.

In the closets of their house, they shot images of themselves and the men they recruited from local gyms.

In this post, Fred and William pose together, while William poses solo outdoors.

It was they who paved the way for other photographers of adult male nudes to advertise their images in American magazines and newspapers until the late 1940's, when the United States Postal Inspection Service forced the owners of Strength and Health and other physique magazines to stop carrying these ads or lose the right to ship their magazines through the mail.