Bernarr Macfadden

Muscular Power and Beauty Bernarr Macfadden

A remarkable early book on bodybuilding and male physique, "Muscular Power and Beauty" was originally published in 1906. Bernarr Macfadden was an exponent of classic Apollo and Hercules body ideals, and his book gives exercises for many different muscle groups to achieve this. Remarkably, many of the photos of MacFadden are nude (although not full frontal or full rear views) side views, and this must have been considered a fairly risque publication for its time. Many closeup photos of arms, chest, legs, etc., show the exercises and the development that MacFadden achieved.