Bernarr Macfadden and the American Physical Culture Movement: Selections from the Gift of Robert J. Young

February 5–April 5, 2010
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

Presented by The Wolfsonian Library in conjunction with Advertising for Health, Bernarr Macfadden and the American Physical Culture Movement commemorated the passing of longtime Wolfsonian supporter Robert J. Young through a selection of physical culture material he generously donated over the years.

Young was a lifelong advocate of healthy living through sunbathing, attention to physical fitness and exercise, proper diet and nutrition, and abstinence from smoking. He was also a great admirer and collector of the publications of Bernarr Macfadden (1868–1955), pioneer of the American physical-culture movement, bodybuilder, and self-made millionaire. Macfadden used his publishing empire to distribute popular magazines and books that championed his crusade against Victorian prudery, exposed early twentieth-century medical establishment quackery, and advocated better living through a healthy diet and physical fitness.