John WILLIE (1902-1962) - Lot 298

John WILLIE (1902-1962) Ten vintage silver prints of his bondage illustrations, circa 1950 Dimensions: 25 cm x 20 cm Paper curled. Note: American photographer and illustrator, pioneer of bondage in the U.S. in the 1930s and 40s. Set of ten vintage silver prints reproducing illustrations by John Willie, a major photographer and illustrator of fetish imagery in the 1930s-1950s, notably through Bizarre magazine. Considered a forerunner in the representation of bondage in the United States, John Willie developed a codified visual universe, blending drawing and photography, which has had a lasting influence on certain contemporary aesthetics. These prints, made around 1950, testify to the distribution of his images in confidential circuits, and are now of particular interest to collectors specializing in 20th-century photography and underground iconography. The homogeneous format and grouped nature of the set reinforce its coherence. The condition, with curled paper, is noteworthy and in keeping with the nature and age of this type of document.