An 1895 photo album offers a gentleman's guide to self-defense moves

[NelsonG]

Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art

These images come from an untitled turn-of-the-century album which catalogued numerous maneuvers a person can use if suddenly engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

Following the revolutionary advancements in motion photography made by Étienne-Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge in the 1880s, many similar handbooks of bodies in motion were produced, with purposes ranging from artistic and scientific reference to achieving business success through exercise.

Here, two finely dressed gentlemen demonstrate a variety of (rather improbable-looking) encounters and the holds, twists, chops and drops one can use to come out on top, pocket watch and coin purse intact. Read more...

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