Nude Milestones.

By Liz Egger     In which I uncover some fascinating nude firsts. ( From June 2004 )

So, June 12th 2004 brought us the very first world-wide nude bike-ride. Whilst I'm all for it myself - only a painful knee problem prevented me from taking part - it does add one more to the list of "nude firsts" which can now no longer be claimed by those of us who like to attempt these things.
Of course, there's still plenty of scope . As far as I know, no one has walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge nude, or performed Hamlet naked, but you get my drift. It is becoming harder and harder to achieve a "nude first."
Hey, I've just given myself an idea. More about it in a minute while I think it through, but in the meantime this nude first thing encouraged me to do a little research. Here are some more fascinating nude first facts .

First nude woman on stage ( modern era )

According to my research, this title goes to Lyons born actress Danielle Clery, who made a totally nude but fleeting appearance at the Folies-Bergere in 1912. Although this provoked outrage at the time, a degree of nudity has since become almost de rigueur in Parisian revues. Incidentally, I've not been able to discover when and where the first nude male appeared on stage. Anybody have any information?

First full frontal nude in mainstream film.

Opinion is divided on this point, but many experts feel that the iconic 60's film "Blow Up" takes the trophy. The story of a young photographer (David Hemmings) who accidentally films a murder does indeed include a scene featuring the very nude Jane Birkin and an equally unclothed chum, but I am not convinced that this is the first of the full-frontal films. Not a bad evocation of "Swinging London" though.

First full frontal nude in a magazine.

The first pubic hair was revealed by "Penthouse" magazine in its August 1971 centrefold. Proprietor Bob Gucione and "Playboy's" Hugh Hefner had been locked in a contest to see who could produce the raunchier magazine, and the Penthouse initiative was quickly answered in January 1972 when "Playboy" published its full frontal centrefold of Marilyn Cole. The subsequent scramble for ever more raunchy pictures became known as "The Pubic Wars"

First U.K. nudist film.

It seems that the first commercial ( as opposed to made for private viewing) nudist film was "The Garden of Eden", first screened in January 1957. Surprisingly the film does not seem to have caused any noticeable reaction amongst the filmgoers of that time.

First nude photographer.

It's thought that the French photographer Lerebours photographed some nudes as early as 1840, only one year after Daguerre introduced his revolutionary process, although no examples of his work are, as far as we know, extant. The Frenchmen Nadar and Durieu, were certainly amongst the first in the world to photograph nudes.

First nude calendar.

The first in a long line of nude calendars stretching up to the present day is thought to be the 1913 "September Morn", a reproduction of an oil painting,"Matinee Septembre", by a French artist, Paul Chabas (1869-1937). As innocuous as it seems to our eyes, the painting was considered obscene by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, who demanded the removal of the painting from the window of an art gallery. Fortunately common sense prevailed, and reproductions of the painting have since sold in their millions.

First nude photography magazine.

The first nude photography magazine was "Camera Work", founded in 1902 by Alfred Stieglitz. Actually this is not quite true. The magazine wasn't dedicated purely to nude photography, as it featured a whole range of photographic subjects. However this was the first magazine to include frequent nude studies, which makes it, as far as I'm concerned, the first nude photography magazine, so there!

First front page streaker photograph.

The "Daily Mirror" (18/3/74) had the happy distinction of being the first large-circulation newspaper internationally to show us an active streaker on its front page. An attractive blonde streaker called Sally is shown pinned against the wall by a London policeman.
But enough of the trivia.
Let me tell you about my great idea. It was the bit about performing Hamlet naked that triggered it.
Listen to this. How about an all nudist theatre group? Wouldn't that be great? I don't mean some seedy sex show, but classic theatre, performed in the nude.
Imagine. The Bard In The Buff. Now that would be a nude first. Probably make a ton of money too.
Perhaps I'll persuade my chums at The Nude Café to help get the show on the road. Maybe we'll start auditioning soon.
If you're interested in taking part, watch this space.
But remember. I'll need to see your testimonials.
'Til next time,

Liz

Related links:

The Naked and the Nude: A History of the Nude in Photographs 1839 to the Present

Blow Up    The film that showed the very first full frontal scene in mainstream film.

The Playboy Book: Fifty Years     The Playboy Story by Hugh Hefner himself.

September Morn   The picture that graced the world's first nude calender, and provoked outrage at the time!
http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/     More information on the World Naked Bike Ride

(This article may not be published or otherwise used without the written consent of the author.)
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