April 22, 2017

Ostra Studio (Jacques and Charles Biederer)

Ostra Studio was a photography studio in Paris that was well-known in the 1930s for producing high-quality erotic pictures of nudes and fetishistic scenes of bondage, whipping, and spanking. The studio was an offshoot of the equally famous Biederer Studio founded by Jacques (1887 – 1942) & Charles Biederer (1892 – 1942) in 1908.

The Biederer Studio had already gained a reputation for making elegant and risque images of female nudes and erotic corporal punishment — including elaborate depictions of F/F domination, Maledom, scenes of male-submissive Femdom, and even pony play. The Ostra division, formed in the late ’30s, was an attempt to create a separate publishing house for “Editions Ostra” — albums of photo-sets based on erotic themes. Unlike the studio-bound Biederer line, many of the Ostra pictures were done outdoors. These include romantic, mildly suggestive images of couples enjoying nature, nudes in classical poses, humorous, voyeuristic displays of partial nudity, and scenes of playful spanking. Sometimes several photos were taken in a series in order to tell a simple story. For example, a historical photo-set shows a Napoleonic soldier confronting two women and eventually spanking them.

In the studio, Ostra produced many sleek, sophisticated photos depicting domestic discipline as well as dominatrix-and-slave BDSM scenarios. One remarkable series of doggie training images may well be the first of their kind. Studio Ostra also did commercial photographic work for La Lingerie Moderne, Yva Richard’s mail-order catalog of lingerie and bondage accessories, as well as photo illustrations for erotic books.

In 1940 France was invaded by Nazi Germany. During the German occupation which lasted until 1942 Biederer/Ostra Studios, and other purveyors of erotica faded away. As the Biederer brothers were of Jewish descent, they were seized by the Nazis and deported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz where they perished. Charles died on june 25 in 1942 Jacques died in Auschwitz on july 7 in 1942.
The legacy of the Biederer Studio lives on in the hundreds of photos that are now widely available on the Internet and the influence they’ve had on the early development of fetish fashion, art, and photography. Jacques Biederer broke new ground and set the standard for later artists such as Charles Guyette, John Willie and Irving Klaw who followed in his footsteps.

It took me over 4 years to built up a large collection with photos from these photographers, I have tried to present them in series and just something for you to consider…, it is like building a puzzle. Putting together all the bits and pieces, waiting for the mixed pieces to find their way to me. For some series it took years to get 3 or more images from the same model. So think about that when you browse the different shoots, not only are these rare and old images, but they have been selected with great care and love.

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