Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s-1950s – Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell
“Hope is kindled from an embrace, and as much as it is humanly possible to speak of certainty, no one can know their own beauty or perceive a sense of their own worth until it has been reflected back through the mirror of another loving, caring human being.”
- Paolo Maria Noseda, “Amantes Amentes,” from the “Loving” introduction
For a book with less than 20-pages of text, it was exactly what I needed to feel comforted during increasingly trying times. When personal rights and liberties are deliberately and systematically being removed, history can serve as both a warning and a beacon of hope.
As Noseda writes in the introduction to this photography collection — curated over 20 years by husbands Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell — hope is sometimes best reflected through others.
This historical record of men, all clearly in love with one another whether romantically or platonically, provided me with the reminder that while progress is not a straight line, it’s the hope of a better day that is always worth the fight.
These men didn’t riot at the Stonewall Inn or sue for the right to marry. Their act of protest — of hope — was to pose together with unguarded body language during a time when homosexuality was a criminal act. They literally created a record of their crime — love.
Arranged by theme or poses (i.e. military, beach, picnic, kissing, etc.), Nini and Treadwell show us that for as much as times have changed, very little has in the ways we show affection — subtle touches, warm embraces, lazy days snuggled together or candid captures of two people at their most vulnerable and pure.
I spent my time going through the collection because it provided me with a serotonin boost that is akin to watching a couple at a wedding. You don’t know what the future holds for this couple, but you are grateful they found one another and can share this moment of happiness.
In “An Accidental Collection,” the authors offer details about how they found these images and determined if love between men was, in fact, being reflected. I appreciated the historical tidbits — for example, from the mid-1800s to mid-1920s posing under an umbrella meant two men were romantically involved — as context to the care and time they’ve put into this hobby.
You could argue that it’s voyeuristic to gaze upon these private moments, but the fact none of the subjects are likely still alive, and that these images could be perceived as an act of rebellion, makes these concerns obsolete.
While there isn’t a lot of diversity (only a few non-white couples are included), Nini and Treadwell explain they now have people sourcing images in multiple countries on various contents, so I hope they will grace us with a volume two soon.
Rating (story): 5/5 stars
Rating (narration): N/A
Formats: Hardcover (personal library)
Dates read: June 20 – June 28, 2022
Multi-tasking: N/A
