Manuscript manual of exercises for use with Sandow's Combined Developer.

[SANDOW, Eugen, pseud. (i.e. Friedrich Müller).]

Published by [France, c. 1920]., 1920

About this Item

Manuscript on paper, oblong 12mo, pp. [2 ('Instructions générales')], 24 leaves with drawings of physical exercises to rectos only, 1 leaf blank; paper watermarked 'J. Daguerre', written in black and red ink; in very good condition; stapled in brown card, small black-and-white printed label after the 1899 poster designed by Louis-Lucien Faure Dujarric advertising 'Sandow's own Combined Developer' to front cover.A seemingly unpublished French manuscript translation of a manual for the use of Sandow's Combined Developer, a fitness device designed by Eugen Sandow, the founding father of modern bodybuilding. The device was first developed by Alexander Whitely in 1893 4, using a pulley system, and was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. It was popularised by Prussian bodybuilder and showman Eugen Sandow (1867 1925), a promoter of physical culture known today as the founding father of modern bodybuilding. In 1898, Sandow designed his own improved combined developer, where a series of removable and interchangeable weights took the place of the pulley system. The manuscript opens with some general instructions: exercise in a well-ventilated room or in the open air; wear loose garments so not to impede movement; avoid exercise for one hour after eating; continue to exercise until the muscles are tired; focus on the particular group of muscles involved in each exercise illustrated; repeat the exercises a reasonable number of times, in the order of the illustrations, with a weight allowing for around thirty repetitions per minute; do not rush the movements, but instead keep a steady pace; in time, allow for more repetitions and heavier weights; rest between each exercise; and exercise before meals. The instructions are followed by a series of diagrams for twenty-eight exercises, with an outline of a figure in black ink, dotted arrows to indicate the movements, and the final position outlined in red ink, each accompanied by captions explaining which muscles are involved and directions for how to execute the exercise correctly. An international celebrity, Sandow became extremely popular in Britain as well as the United States where he was once described as 'the finest specimen of manhood' by renowned physical educator Dudley Sargent of Harvard University. 'Sandow promoted various fitness enterprises, the most important being his Institute of Physical Culture, which opened in 1897 and led to numerous other centres throughout Great Britain. Sandow also capitalized on his fame by marketing various physical culture publications, exercise devices, and dietary products. Catering to a heightened Victorian fascination with the human body, he staged a precedent-setting physique (bodybuilding) contest for an overflow audience in 1901 in London's Albert Hall. One of the judges was the writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Sandow later promoted his health-and-fitness gospel on an extensive world tour and influenced such prominent physical culturists as Theodore Roosevelt. His greatest honour came in 1911 when he was appointed Professor of Scientific and Physical Culture to King George V' (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Language: French.

Seller Inventory # G2857

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Manuscript manual of exercises for use with Sandow's Combined Developer.
• Publisher: [France, c. 1920].
• Publication Date: 1920