The History of BDSM - Blog Recommendation

Venus in Furs, published in 1870, is an anachronism, or so I thought. Throughout history there always have been submissive and masochistic men but I assumed, that, apart from a few practitioners, the majority of them only gave in to their peculiar desires over the past few decades, mainly due to higher living standards and a more tolerant and liberal society. Somehow it's hard to imagine a troglodyte risking his life bringing home the dino bacon, only to receive a spanking, cause mistress ordered pterosaur eggs.

Before they invented the whip, they had clubs (and Lego I guess).
I feel sorry for Mr. Troglodyte already.

When I stumbled upon the History of BDSM Tumblr I realized it has been around for much longer, right under our noses. The History of BDSM is one of the finest curated blogs that deals with "vintage" BDSM. The diversity of its sources is just marvelous. Browsing through the images there will be an ah-moment for everyone. Here's one of mine:

Another one that caught my eye is 1930's movie star Marlene Dietrich, looking tough in a leather overcoat. Quite surprising.

Judging from the collection interest in BDSM first peaked in the 1930's. Browsing the archives, the oldest image I found dates from 1906 and even though the majority of images show female submissives with male dommes--a few female dommes--the hundred year old picture below, portrays a smiling woman flogging a naked, helpless man. His moustache makes for a great detail.

1906: (really) old school femdom

Finally, look at this 1920's picture. Femdom artist Sardax calls it: "refined and erotic, every detail carefully rendered". It is a beautiful image which shows how large the differences in quality can be: from commercial trash to elegantly erotic or simply amazing art.

The History of BDSM also runs a blog. It's author is working on a book about the history of BDSM. In a recent update he mentions a lack of sources in English about Japanese BDSM. Researching the Beast Yapoo and the video label for an upcoming post, I ran into the same issue. With so much information already hidden in the captions of his Tumblr posts, I am very curious. Once the book is finished it most likely will make a better read than Fifty Shades. It definitely is much more anticipated, at least by me.