For you SM history buffs...
Can't even recall what I was reading when I stumbled across a ref. to a once-famous, still popular Aussie composer named Percy Grainger, (1882-1961). Looked him up on Wiki and was agog to read the following:
Grainger was a sado-masochist, with a particular enthusiasm for flagellation, who extensively documented and photographed everything he and his wife did. His walls and ceilings were covered in mirrors so that after sessions of self-flagellation he could take pictures of himself from all angles, documenting each image with details such as date, time, location, whip used, and camera settings. He gave most of his earnings from 1934–1935 to the University of Melbourne for the creation and maintenance of a museum dedicated to himself. Along with his manuscript scores and musical instruments, he donated the photos, 83 whips, and a pair of his blood-soaked shorts.[citation needed] Although the museum opened in 1935, it was not available to researchers until the 1960s.
Lots more about him, his bizarre relationship with his mother, and his musical legacy on Wiki.
Gee, thanks!
And it isn't even my birthday.
I'm always glad to find a documented historical perv, particularly in the inter-war period.
Posted by: Peter Tupper | Jun 23, 2008 at 05:14 PM
Glad you liked, Peter. I thought of you when I found him.
Posted by: Gloria | Jun 23, 2008 at 08:06 PM
These days the Grainger Museum keeps part of its "Lust Branch" on display, including some of his whips, dirty postcards, and home-made masks designed to protect the face and eyes from over-exuberant flagellation.
His small grave marker in Adelaide is topped by an enormous statue he erected in memory of his mother, with a rather fulsome poem to her inscribed below.
Posted by: Ben.H | Jun 23, 2008 at 08:17 PM
Thanks for adding those details, Ben.
G.
Posted by: Gloria | Jun 24, 2008 at 10:49 AM