Alan B. Stone (Mark-One Studio)

Canadian photographer Alan B. Stone (1928-1992) was a commercial photographer and photojournalist, under the pseudonyms Corporal of Canada and Marc Deauville, he photographed rugged sportsmen models and the male physique. Stone became interested in photography after a 1939 trip to the New York City World’s Fair, returning a decade later to study at the School of Modern Photography.

After setting up shop in Lachine, Quebec (Canada) in 1953, he was asked to do some exercise shots for the Boy Scouts and got in touch with Billy Hill, a former Mr. Canada, for help. Hill and others from his gym wanted photographs of themselves to sell at bodybuilding competitions. In 1956 his photos were published in Physique Pictorial in the US and Adonis in Britain. He traded ads in the publication in lieu of payment, which helped compile his mailing list of buyers.

His Mark-One photographs beautifully celebrated several of Canada’s title-holding bodybuilders and popular physiques, including Gerald Desfosses, Billy Hill, Conrad Choquette and Mike Mangione. In the early 1960s he edited four magazines: Ahoy, Crew, Face and Physique, and Physique Illustrated using his and other photographer’s works. His studio was raided by the Montreal police, but all items were returned since he rarely took nude photographs. In 1966, Stone had assisted the publishers of Canada's first gay periodical Two by providing them with photographic material in exchange for advertising space, this was very likely what precipitated the raid in Montreal.

In later life, he developed a camper that fit on the back of a pick-up truck and travelled extensively in Canada and the United States, often accompanied by one of his models, selling photos and articles to camping and travel magazines.

Most of the body of work produced by Stone is housed in a collection at the Archives gaies du Québec, Montreal, Québec, Canada.

Sources:

• Alan B. Stone Collection, Archives gaies du Québec, Montreal, Quebec.
• Belonsky, Andrew. "10 Lessons Learned From 60s-Era Gay Skin Mags". Out Magazine, 3 July 2013, retreived: 9 Oct 2018.
• Lewis, Philip, and Monette, Jean-Francois, directors. Eye on the Guy: Alan B. Stone and the Age of Beefcake. Frameline, San Francisco, California, 2006, retreived: 9 Oct 2018.
• 'International Center of Photography to host Alan B. Stone and the "Senses of Place".' Art Knowledge News, 10 Dec 2009, retrieved: 9 Oct 2018.
• Lassen, Amos. '"EYE ON THE GUY: ALAN B. STONE & THE AGE OF BEEFCAKE"— A Pioneer', Reviews by Amos Lassen, 20 Nov 2014, retrieved: 9 Oct 2018.
• "Mark-One Studio." ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.