In 2023, Elaine Ewing acquired a collection of 56 original negatives from the archive of The New York Daily Mirror. Photographed by Joe Costa for New York Mirror Magazine, these images document Joe Pilates, Clara Pilates, Nedda Casei, and the Bednasium in 1958.

Some of the photographs were published in the 1958 article “Stretching Your Way to a Longer Life,” while the majority of the negatives had never been published.

The collection offers a rare glimpse into Pilates history, documenting Joe Pilates’ teaching environment and the equipment used during this period. For those researching Archival Pilates, Contrology, and the development of Original Pilates, these photographs provide valuable visual documentation of the work as it was taught in Joe Pilates’ New York studio.

The images also offer a connection to the history of the Original Pilates studio, where Joe and Clara Pilates taught generations of students and developed the methods and equipment that became central to the Pilates tradition.

The Pilates History Research Archive™ has made a selection of these previously unpublished images and outtakes available as reproduction prints, allowing Pilates teachers, historians, collectors, studios, and enthusiasts to own a piece of this documented history.

Explore the 1958 Bednasium Reproduction Prints.

“Bednasium Poster”
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“Clara and Joe”
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“Joe Jumping on Nedda”
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“Nedda Jumping on Joe”
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“The Rotor with Shirt”
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