Basil Clavering (1910-1973) An archive of homoerotic photographs, 1950s-1960s the majority 24 x 1...

Basil Clavering (1910-1973) An archive of homoerotic photographs, 1950s-1960s comprising approximately 850 gelatin silver prints, pasted onto paper sheets and contained within 5 lever arch files, the spines titled 'Royale', most numbered in negatives, many being copy prints, and a large quantity of copy negatives the majority 24 x 18cm (9 1/2 x 7in), but around a third 16 x 11cm (6 1/4 x 4 1/4in). (large quantity) Footnotes: Provenance Acquired by the present owner in Notting Hill in the 1980s, from a fan of Studio Royale who had tried unsuccessfully to mimic its success Clavering was a successful businessman, and owned the Gala-Royale cinema chain. More as a hobby than anything else, he established a photographic studio in the basement of his Pimlico home, with his friend John Charles Parkhurst (1927-2000). Both men had served in the Navy, and they were drawn to the military men around the Hyde Park and Chelsea barracks, whom they paid to model for them. The studio operated under two names, Royale and Hussar, and Clavering sold the photographs by mail order. The images are profoundly erotic, despite there being no frontal nudity. Models are occasionally depicted solo, but more often in groups, and scenarios involve uniform, military and naval discipline, wrestling, light bondage and spanking - somehow always in a mood of levity and playfulness. Clavering met Tom of Finland, and several images from a biker series echo the Finn's work; in 1957 Studio Hussar even commissioned a series of drawings from him. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com