Biederer Studio
The Biederer Studio aka Studio Biederer was one of the main producers of high quality erotic and fetish photography in Paris in the years between the two world wars. Their photographs explored sensational, explicit, and often ironic fantasies that pushed the boundaries of accepted sexuality.
Biederer Brothers, a Czech immigrant, moved to Paris in 1908 and set up a photography studio sometime after that. He was joined by his brother Charles in 1913 who helped him run the studio.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Biederer Studio became well-known for producing sleek, sophisticated photos of erotic nudes and daring images depicting bondage, whipping, and spanking. These compositions made effective use of fetishistic clothing and accessories such as leather and rubber corsets, high-heel boots, leather opera gloves, shackles, chains, chastity belts, and even a metal spreader bar (perhaps the first to be photographed).
Most of their BDSM-themed photographs involve either all-female (F/F) spanking scenarios or a dominatrix humiliating and whipping one or two female slaves. Biederer also made Maledom images (men punishing women) and Femdom photos, some of which feature men being used as pony play slaves.
In the early years, Biederer signed his photographs. When he began specializing in nudes and domination scenes, he marked some with his initials J.B. or just a "B" beneath an accent mark, and then stopped signing them altogether. However, many unmarked images can be identified by the frequently used props, set decorations, and theme.
See also [ Biederer Brothers ]
Ostra Studio
In the late 1930s, the two brothers created a subdivision called Ostra Studio. This line of photographs was intended for publication in erotic books, catalogs, and self-published "Ostra Editions" of photo-sets based on a theme. A few of these photos are marked "Ostra", others have a logo of a question mark inside a triangle. But most are unmarked, which has created difficulties in separating the work of one division from the other.
The Ostra pictures encompass a broader range of subjects, including fantasy, romance, history, and humor. Unlike the studio-bound Biederer pictures, many of these are taken outdoors. These range from mildly suggestive images of romantic couples on a picnic to more risque, and sometimes humorous, displays of nudity, implied lesbianism, and playful spanking. One series with a historical theme shows a Napoleonic soldier confronting two women and then spanking them. Ostra produced an extensive series of nudes in semi-classical poses and elegant images of corporal punishment erotica that blends into the similar line made under the Biederer Studio name.
They also did the photographs for Yva Richard's La Lingerie Moderne mail-order catalog of lingerie and bondage accouterments. Many of these photos bear Ostra's triangle and question mark logo.
End of an era and future legacy
In 1940 France was invaded by Nazi Germany; the German occupation lasted until 1944. During that time, Yva Richard, Biederer Studios, and other purveyors of erotica faded away. As the Biederer brothers were of Jewish descent, they were seized by the Nazis and deported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz where they perished.
The legacy of the Biederer Studio lives on in the hundreds of photos that are now widely available on the Internet and the influence they've had on the early development of fetish fashion, art, and photography. Biederer Brothers broke new ground and set the standard for later artists such as Charles Guyette, John Willie and Irving Klaw who followed in his footsteps.
There is a book about the Biederer Studio entitled Les Éditions Ostra: L'âge d'Or du Fétichisme (2007) by Alexandre Dupouy. (Astarté: Paris) isbn 9782909607191. This is a companion piece to Dupouy's book about Yva Richard.
See also [ Biederer gallery ]
See also
- Les Éditions Ostra: L'âge d'Or du Fétichisme
- Ostra Studio
- Yva Richard
- Charles Guyette
- John Willie
- Irving Klaw
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