ALBERT TRELOAR and
BEATRICE MARSHALL
BODYBUILDERS
POSING ON FILM
in 1904
by R. Christian Anderson, Ph.D.

The movie clip (right) shows about a minute of a bodybuilding show at Stanford White's magnificent original Madison Square Garden in New York on December 29, 1903 (when it was actually on Madison Square at the site of the current New York Life Building). This film was made by Thomas Edison himself.

(above) The original Madison Square Garden, site of the first 2 original bodybuilding contests in 1903.

In the clip, Treloar wears leopard skin posing trunks (this outfit was seen as that of the mythical hero "Hercules" and was symbolic of great strength). He displays his physique in a smooth and effective fashion to Edison's camera. Treloar was declaired "The Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World" and won the $1000 cash prize... a remarkable sum of money in those days! This film was made about 2 weeks after that night of bodybuilding performances on January 16, 1904. Some of the poses are seem odd to us today, but the transitions from one movement to the next are flawlessly performed and it is clear Treloar had developed a routine that showed his musculature in angles clearly copied from Greco-Roman sculpture. He would cut a fine figure even by todays standards. For over 40 years, Treloar was the director of physical education at the famed Los Angeles Athletic Club in California. He trained countless men in bodybuilding during those many years.

Miss Beatrice Marshall, who is seen first on the clip was declaired the winner of the same title in the woman's catagory and also recieved $1000 for her efforts. She clearly shows that femininity and a sense of innocence was paramount in posing for women back then. Her figure, though rather "Rubenesque" to us today, was considered the height of feminine form in 1903.

The original paper print of this film is in the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.