SANDOW THE STRONG MAN

Prussian strongman Eugen Sandow flexes his muscular physique for the camera.

One of the most famous advocates of male physical culture and sport, Sandow toured New Zealand in 1902 and flexed his almost nude body in front of large audiences. This earlier film is the Edison Kinetoscope from 1894. There is another version by the American Mutoscope Company in 1896.

“Along with the film Serpentine Dance (F2909), this footage of Sandow was included in the first Wellington film programme on 28 October 1896: “an electric knob is touched, and where all was darkness there appears an illumination, and Sandow, the strong man, not a picture but Sandow in his habit as he lives, displaying every feature of his marvellous muscular power and physical strength...” - The Evening Post, 27 October 1896.