Register

Loving: Men in Love 1850s-1950s

By Peggy Roalf   Friday December 18, 2020

The look of love in the eyes of two lovers is unmistakable. The emotion most written about, most filmed, easily most talked about writes its own story over time. As a subject for photography, however, not so much. Until this winter, when a new book, Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s-1950s, arrived from 5 Continents Publishing. A collection of hundreds (anonymous except for one couple) of images from the early days of tintypes and ambrotypes through photobooth “selfies” and self-timer snapshots made during World War II, as well as many made by family and allies of the couples, this is what Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell call an “accidental” collection

I leave it to the reader to discover the story of how this remarkable collection of beautifully reproduced pictures came together; of what it is to be in love, to love, and to hold in esteem, so sweetly expressed by the couples themselves. The following text is extracted from the Introduction to the book by the collectors; the paragraph breaks are mine. 

“One enduring philosophical question is: “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” The correct answer is yes—or no. If these couples loved each other, memorialized their love with a photo, but no one else saw it, did their love exist, or matter? This book is filled with fallen trees whose sound, though delayed, is now being heard for the first time. They are the sounds of an embrace, a lingering glance, the touch of a hand, the softness of a brow, two figures lounging in the grass, a cheek pressed against another’s cheek. 

“These pages contain the images of loving male couples that were, until now, largely kept secret fro their families, their friends, and the world. They memorialized their feelings for one another in these photos at great risk. All of them are examples of love, affection, attachment, and bravery. What we as collectors, personally, have come to understand from these photos is that couples like us have always existed. They were the trees falling in the forest that on one heard. Until now. These photos have taught us something that we instinctually understood, but hadn’t yet formed into a thought that the human heart has never conformed to the strictures of society as it stumbles awkwardly through something it doesn’t immediately understand. 

“The heart will always find its way to the light, and in this case, into daylight. Until this collection, we thought that the notion of us as a loving couple was “new.” What we have learned from our collection is that we’re not new. We, and other couples like us, both male and female, are a continuation of a long line of loving couples who have probably existed since the beginning of time."

“Our own understanding of our collection has evolved, and continues to do so, from when we first began. Until recently, a loving male couple, or individuals, had their relationships described, or reported, or narrated by leaders of religious organizations, politicians, and the legal system—even though they had never met our subjects. They, however, spoke about these people as if they knew them, and it was seldom in kind terms.

“Today, for us, it’s different. As individuals, and as a married couple, we can narrate our own lives to our families, friends, co-workers, and the general public. The cost for doing that is not insignificant, but it in no way carries the risks it once did. The subjects in our photos, with the publication of Loving, will narrate their own lives for the first time in history. Far from being ostracized or condemned, they will be celebrated, and the love that they shared will inspire others, as it has us. Love does not have a sexual orientation. Love is universal.”—Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell.

Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s-1950s (5 Continents Editions S.r.l. 2020) is available where books are sold. It is also available in Italian, French, German and Spanish editions through fivecontinentseditions.com. A video narrated by the collectors can be seen here.


DART