Eugen Sandow Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Carrie Moore, The Sandow Girl

Posted on Monday, May 24th, 2021 by John Wood

In the late 1800’s, “The Gibson Girl,” as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson became the personification of the feminine ideal. Well, thanks to a somewhat obscure vaudeville play known as “the Dairy Maids” eventually along came “the Sandow Girl.”

Originally played by Carrie Moore as shown above inventing what would be come to be known as the Zercher lift, (there were eventually several Sandow Girls), according to the lyrics by Paul A. Rubens, a Sandow Girl pretty much tops them all. To boot, the final third act of the play took place in a gymnasium with Carrie and several other “Sandow Girls” singing while squeezing grip dumbbells. It proved quite popular (although in all likelihood this has more to do with their tight-fitting outfits.)

Sandow would have been instantly recognizable to audiences at the time and they would have easily understood the reference. In a case of art imitating life, eventually Sandow had his own “Sandow girls” who demonstrated his various physical appliances at live events and shows.

Sandow’s Magazine

Posted on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019 by John Wood

Among the number of Sandow’s many “firsts” include the publication of the first publication devoted to strength training. Initially published from 1898 to 1899 titled “Physical Culture,” it eventually changed its name — appropriately enough — to “Sandow’s Magazine of Physical Culture and British Sport and ran until 1907. A variety of topics were covered but Sandow’s advice, articles on his own training, and various feats of strength were the highlight of each issue. Here’s a look at the cover of the April, 1903 edition.

William Barker

Posted on Monday, August 13th, 2018 by John Wood

Too old? 75-year old William Barker shows he’s still “got it” by performing a crucifix with a Milo kettlebell handle loaded to 50 pounds hanging from each thumb while still wearing his Sunday best. Barker had previously been featured in LIFE magazine. In 1901, Mr. Barker was a gold-medal winner at one of Sandow’s competitions.

Ed Jubinville

Posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2018 by John Wood

Ed Jubinville from Holyoke, Massachusetts, took up physical training after becoming inspired by an article about Eugen Sandow in Bernarr MacFadden’s Physical Culture Magazine. In fact, his first workouts were with a couple of bricks. Shortly afterward he began training with more conventional equipment at the B-6 Weightlifting Club run by Armand LaMarr… and it was Armand LaMarr who first taught him Muscle Control. Around this time, Ed also happened upon the writings of Mark Berry which he lists as being very influential.

With a solid foundation in proper weightlifting and a knowledgeable teacher, Ed Jubinville went on to become one of the greatest Muscle control experts the world had ever seen. You can read a very interesting anecdote on Ed Jubinville’s Muscle control act in The Dellinger Files Vol. I.

T.H. Sarkari – The Indian Sandow

Posted on Thursday, April 19th, 2018 by John Wood

Tehmurasp “T.H.” Sarkari lifting in a contest circa 1920. Sarkari owned a gymnasium in Bombay and was known as “The Indian Sandow” for promoting the importance of physical training and weight lifting in his native country. Sarkari was adept at tearing phone books, which is always an impressive feat.

Harry B. Paschall

Posted on Friday, December 8th, 2017 by John Wood

Harry B. Paschall is shown here, hard at work drawing up his super strongman character Bosco. As a young man, Paschall became inspired after watching Sandow and Saxon in action. He went on do do illustrations for Alan Calvert’s Strength Magazine and, later on, Strength and Health Magazine and the British magazine Vigour. He was also a very good writer, with a number of training articles and three classic books also to his credit.

Sandow’s Health and Strength Cocoa Tins

Posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 by John Wood

As mentioned numerous times on this blog, Sandow promoted a variety of products in his heyday. These items including his own line of Health and Strength Cocoa which came packaged in the above tins.

The Sandow Physical Culture Badge

Posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 by John Wood

Many strongmen had their own medals or badges as prizes for finishing their training courses. Here’s a look at Sandow’s Physical Culture Badge. This picture is enlarged to show detail, the badge is actually about the size of a quarter.

Gustav Fristensky

Posted on Saturday, November 4th, 2017 by John Wood

Physique-wise, Gustav Fristensky was said by many to be as impressive as Sandow but since he was not as well known, did not get his due. Regardless, Fristensky was certainly an exemplary strength athlete as both his lifts and wrestling achievements show. The above image is from the cover of a book written about Fristensky’s life and exploits which was published in 1970.

The Brothers McCann

Posted on Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 by John Wood

The Brothers McCann, Henry (left) and Louis (right), of Birmingham, England, were known as Hercules and Samson when they became professional strongmen in the late 1800’s. In December of 1890, at The Royal Music Hall, they challenged Eugen Sandow to a match — and Won! …although they were defeated by Louis Cyr in a similar contest a few years later.