Title supplied by cataloger.; Herman J. Schultheis was born in Aachen, Germany in 1900, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1920s after obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering. He married Ethel Wisloh in 1936, and the pair moved to Los Angeles the following year. He worked in the film industry from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, most notably on the animated features "Fantasia" and "Pinocchio." His detailed notebook, documenting the special effects for "Fantasia," is the subject of a 14-minute short-subject included on the film's DVD. In 1949, he started employment with Librascope as a patent engineer. Schultheis was an avid amateur photographer who traveled the world with his cameras. It was on one of these photographic exhibitions in 1955 that he disappeared in the jungles of Guatemala. His remains were discovered 18 months later. The digitized portion of this collection represents the images Schultheis took of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities after he relocated to the area in 1937. Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle in which one or more bulls are baited, and then killed in a bullring for sport and entertainment. Spanish-style bullfighting, called "corrida de toros," is traditionally comprised of three matadors, each fighting two bulls, aged between four and six years old. Each matador has six assistants - two "picadores" (lancers on horseback) mounted on horseback; three "banderilleros," who along with the matadors are collectively known as "toreros"; and a "mozo de espadas" (sword page). A time span of fifteen minutes is allotted to each encounter. As soon as a bull enters the ring, the matador starts his maneuvers with a large "capote" (cape). If the matador is a beginner then the bull assigned to him will be approximately three years old. Experienced matadors are assigned older bulls, at least four years of age. "Picadors" enter the ring mounted on horses and bear lances. They are allowed a specified number of chances that is decided upon by someone in authority. "Banderilleros" work on foot and place what are referred to as banderillas, or barbed sticks, on the bull's shoulders. In the last phase the matador uses a smaller cape called a "muleta," reducing the size of the moving target and also brings the matador into full view of the charging bull. The final step is the killing of the animal, which is done by piercing the bull between its shoulder blades with a single sword thrust called the "estocada". The matador hurtles over the bull's horns and sinks his blade between the shoulder blades, but one wrong move could result in the matador being gored, trampled, or his own death instead. An enraged bull charges at one of four toreros, possibly a banderillero, as spectators look on. At this point, the bull doesn not appear to have any "varas" (lances) sticking out from the top of his neck, which no doubt, will soon change. A section of bleachers is visible, and it does not appear this "corrida" packed a full house.
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;11 x 15 cm. Photographic prints
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