Elmer Batters (November 24, 1919 – June 25, 1997) was a pioneer fetish photographer who specialized in capturing artful images of women with an emphasis on stockings, legs, and feet. Batters started out publishing his photographs himself, but since the late 1960s his work has been featured in magazines such as Leg-O-Rama, Nylon Doubletake, and Black Silk Stockings, to name but a few.

 

One of Batters’ favorite models was a Rubenesque woman named Caruschka. Little is known about the model’s life, but Batters was smitten with her as were his fans. “When I say Caruschka was my favorite model,” Batters once wrote, “I don’t just mean me. No girl in the history of my leg art business has attracted so many admirers as she. Kinda hard to believe these days; I know she is a little heavier than the fashion. Caruschka has charisma though; she still shines through. She also has a beautiful set of full shapely legs, firm and thrusting tits, and delicate, high-arch feet. But are these things what make us love a woman? I think not. I think love or even sexual attraction comes from the sparkle in a girl’s eyes, the lift of her eyebrow, and the way her lips curl into that provocative smirk that hooks a man’s soul like a hapless mackerel. This is Caruscha’s strength. Her face seduces me even now–these 25 years later as it has seduced thousands of you.”

 Near the end of his life, Batters was rediscovered by German publisher Benedikt Taschen who produced three books of his work, including “From the Tip of the Toes to the Top of the Hose” and “Legs That Dance to Elmer’s Tune”.
Today, original photographic prints by Batters fetch up to $1500 among art collectors.