FILE UNIT 016: Model Last Name P
File Unit
IdentifierBMF001-02-04-016
Extent & Medium3 File Boxes
Date1970s
Administrative/Biographical HistoryThe Athletic Model Guild (AMG) was founded by Bob Mizer and two business associates in Los Angeles in 1945 as a referral service for models and photographers. The direct sale of photosets by mail order was a more viable economic model for business. Mizer began photographing models he recruited from local gymnasiums and beaches. AMG went on to publish Physique Pictorial magazine from 1951 to 1990. The studio survived obscenity charges and continued to produce materials until Mizer's death in 1992. The studio was sold to photographer Dennis Bell in 2003, who founded the Bob Mizer Foundation in 2010.
Scope & ContentFile contains contact sheets created from Bob Mizer's medium format black-white transparencies with handwritten notes and proofreading marks.
Archival HistoryJoseph Mizer [1907-1992], Los Angeles [1]; inherited June 1992 by Wayne Stanley [1943-2008], Los Angeles [2]; purchased 26 December 2003 by Dennis E. Bell, San Francisco [3]; founded and donated in 2010 to Bob Mizer Foundation, San Francisco California [4].
[1] Joseph Mizer, Bob's older brother, inherited contents of Bob's estate, and died shortly after, probate records in BMF curatorial files.
[2] Stanley acquired entire Mizer estate through instructions of will in occasion of Joe Mizer's death, probate records in BMF curatorial files.
[3] Agreement of 26 December 2003 by Stanley-Bell in BMF curatorial files.
[4] In 2010, Bell founded the Bob Mizer Foundation to hold and protect the Mizer estate and artifacts of his peers.
Immediate Source of Acquisition or TransferContact Sheets purchased by Dennis Bell from Wayne Stanley on December 26, 2003, in parallel with the rest of the Mizer estate.
LanguageEnglish
System of ArrangementThe collection was purchased in a complete state of disarray from mishandling after Mizer's death. Collection was arranged in 2010 according to classifications established by the creator and interpretations by Dennis Bell. The sub-series has been arranged into 26 file units, alphabetically by model last name.
Select records only have been described at the item level. Other items have been digitized and scans used in the cataloging system to illustrate fonds, series and file-level descriptions. Consult the archivist for more information.
Physical Access ProvisionsArrangements required for physical access. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Bob Mizer Foundation Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Bob Mizer Foundation as the owner of the physical items.
RightsAll Right Reserved. Permission to use images must be obtained in advance and in writing from the Bob Mizer Foundation, Inc by writing to info@BobMizer.org
LicenseMaterials available for research and education purposes only. Permission to publish, copy or otherwise use these materials must be obtained from the BMF.
Archivist's NotePrepared by Dennis Bell in Spring 2021. Updated in 2019 by Dennis Bell to add further artifacts and related scans.
Date of Description2021