Horace Narbeth (4 March 1906 – 11 June 2002), known professionally as Roye, was a British photographer.[1][2]

Tomorrow's Crucifixion (1938)

Life and work

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Roye's photograph Tomorrow's Crucifixion, depicting a nude model wearing a gas mask while pinned to a crucifix caused controversy when published in the North London Recorder in August 1938, but later became a noted photograph of its time.[citation needed]

In 1954 with a fellow photographer called Vala, Roye came up with the Roye-Vala 3-D Process. Not to miss an opportunity his company The Camera Studies Club published the Stereo Glamour Series of 3-D books of nude studies and pin-ups.[3] As a photographer of nudes, he successfully contested the obscenity laws of his day. An account of which he published in 1960 in the booklet Unique Verdict – the Story of an Unsuccessful Prosecution.[4]

Roye retired to Portugal. During the 1974 revolution, he was besieged in his house, holding out with a shotgun. Forced to sell up he returned to England.[4] In 1980, he made his final move to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. He became Morocco's oldest British expatriate, and he was also the longest-serving member of the British Institute of Professional Photographers. He took up parasailing at the age of 75 and water-skied on the river Bouregeg until he was 78 years old.[5]

Roye was married three times. His first marriage was to actress Joan Dare. He later married Renee Bernadeau who had been a French dancer. His final marriage was to Marilyn, a Canadian model who died in 1993.[5]

In 2002 at the age of 96, Roye was stabbed to death by an intruder at his home in the kasbah of Rabat.

Publications

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  • Phyllis in Censorland. The Camera Studies Club, 1942 and later edition 1956.
  • Perfect Womanhood. George Routledge & Sons, London, 1941.
  • The English Maid. George Routledge & Sons, London, 1939.
  • The Scottish Maid. George Routledge & Sons, London, 1940.
  • The Irish Maid. George Routledge & Sons, London, 1941.
  • Desirée. Chapman & Hall, London, 1942. Later, smaller sized paper backed edition, The Camera Studies Club, London.
  • The Welsh Maid. George Routledge & Sons, London, 1942.
  • Phyllis Dixey Album The Spotlight on Beauty Series no.3. The Camera Studies Club, Elstree. Relates to Phyllis Dixey.
  • Rhapsody in Colour. The Camera Studies Club, London, 1943.
  • Maids. Elstree, Elstree, 1947.
  • Canadian Beauty. The Camera Studies Club, 1952.
  • Glamour on Parade No.1, Posed by George Black's Lovelies. The Camera Studies Club, Elstree.
  • Nude Ego. Hutchinson, London, 1955.[6]
  • Unique Editions, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4. Art, London.
  • Unique Verdict - the Story of an Unsuccessful Prosecution. Art, 1960.
  • Unique Verdict – Art Supplement. Art, London.
  • Curves and Colour. The Camera Studies Club, London, 1943. With Walter Bird and John Everard.
  • More Eves Without Leaves (with Walter Bird and John Everard). The Camera Studies Club, Elstree, 1941.
  • Eves Without Leaves (with Walter Bird and John Everard). C. Arthur Pearson, London, 1940.
  • Eternal Eve (with Walter Bird and John Everard). Elstree, London, 1947.
  • Arthur Ferrier's Lovelies. Photographs by Roye. Published by Chapman and Hall, London, 1941. Later, smaller sized paperback editions by the Camera Studies Club, London.

References

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  1. ^ Schwartz, Erin (2006). "Erotic Photography". In Warren, Lynne (ed.). Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge. p. 449. ISBN 0-415-97665-0.
  2. ^ Pollen, Annebella (2021). Nudism in a Cold Climate: The Visual Culture of Naturists in Mid-20th-Century Britain. Los Angeles: Atelier. pp. 91–95.
  3. ^ "The Roye-Vala 3-D Proces". pamela-green.com. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Horace Roye — A Short Biography | Pamela Green". pamela-green.com. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Obituary: Horace Roye". The Guardian. 21 June 2002. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  6. ^ Narbeth, Horace (1955). Nude Ego. Hutchinson.