Today, we live in an era where we are free to choose who to love and immortalize it through photography. Those from centuries back weren’t so lucky. And yet, there’s actually an abundance of snapshots showing same-sex relationships. Among them is a 2020 photo book that serves as an archive of tender moments between male couples from the distant past.

The past two decades saw Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell building an “accidental collection.” They rummaged flea markets, online auctions and estate sales for photographs of male couples from a time when it was mostly frowned upon. The first photo that started it all, they recalled, showed “two young men, embracing and gazing at one another — clearly in love.”

“We looked at that photo, and it seemed to look back at us. And in that singular moment, it reflected us back to ourselves. These two young men, in front of a house, were embracing and looking at one another in a way that only two people in love will do,” they added.

Their collection eventually grew to over 2,800 previously unpublished photos from the 1850s to 1950s. From this passion project came the idea to share the powerful stories of love to the rest of the world. Thus, the photo book “LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love” was born. It showcases carefully curated photos from the couple’s archive, which included acquisitions from Europe, Canada and across the US.

“These photos had stood the test of time for somewhere between seventy and one-hundred-and-seventy years, and we were now the custodians for these unlikely survivors of a world that is only just now catching up to them,” Nini and Treadwell stressed in their project story.

The couple also noted that the project covers a wide range of individuals, from nineteenth century working-class men, fashionably dressed businessmen, and university students, to soldiers and sailors of all ages. Their love stories were also captured through a variety of photography technologies. These include daguerreotypesambrotypesglass negatives, tintypes, postcards and photo booth strips. As such, the photo book also serves as a fascinating archive of photography as it developed alongside the changing fashions, hairstyles, societal norms and romantic gestures.

Want to add “LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love” to your bookshelf in time for the Pride Month? Head over to loving1000.org to grab your copy.

All photos by via loving1000.org