Customer Reviews

Affectionate Men: A Photographic History of a Century of Male Couples, 1850-1950

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I found this book to be beautiful and profound. Regardless if the men pictured were lovers or friends, the photographs made me realize that today we live in a completely different society than the one pictured in this enlightening book. It seemed to be a time (1850-1920)when men were more free to hold hands, hug, even kiss, without the fear of being riduculed, beaten or labeled. It makes me realize that we live in a society just now when we should have moved forward with our emotional freedom and tolerance of others. Instead we seem to be moving backward every day. That is why I feel this book should be looked at, experienced and shared over and over again. It reminded me that in spite of our great leaps in science, medicine and fantastic inventions, and our recent explorations of space, as humankind we seem to have taken a leap into a world that is filled with hate and intolerance, one that has lost the innocence and joy one feels in experiencing these photographs of a special and more unique time and place.

Got this book as a gift two weeks ago & a day hasn't gone by that I haven't found myself wanting to spend time perusing it.. If you're a gay man, here is your history in beautiful, touching photographs. Some of them are truly amazing.

While this book is well-designed and many of the photographs are lovely and thought-provoking (Are these men friends, brothers, lovers?), you leave it realizing that this is basically one person's collection of old photographs of men together. I bet there are many, many more--and better examples out there that would have made this book memorable.

This is what I would call a nice little novelty book--perfectly charming, fascinating historically, but not one I will likely pull out to look at time and time again.

The pictures are indeed fascinating (especially the candid nudes!). However--and in fairness, the author stresses this in the foreword--I would guess that a significant number of these "couples" are not romantically linked in any way. I suspect that they most often simply represent a time when men in our culture (or in European cultures, since many of them are from overseas) thought nothing of touching one another affectionately in public. It actually documents very well that the "manly" refusal of men to hold hands or even to stand with arms around one another, is of more recent vintage, and thus it holds out the hope that maybe the pendulum will swing back. I recommend the book, though. It makes a nice addition to my collection--and the design, by the way, is superb....

This slim volume of old daguerrotypes, tintypes, and photographs of men together provides a touching reminder of a time when males felt no inhibitions about expressing physical affection for one another and having it documented on film. The men who populate these pages may or may not have been sexual lovers, but their casual embraces and closeness are curiously moving in a time when gay men and women are struggling for acceptance against frequently virulent opposition. The only drawbacks to this volume are its short length and occasionally cutesy artwork, but these should not dissuade any reader from enjoying these images.

This book is so beautiful, anyone looking for a book like this shouldn't hesitate. You will be so happy with it. I do with it were bigger and in hardcover, but it's still just so nice to have and what a great collection of gay couples through the years. It's gay history, wish I had seen this book when I was much much younger, to make me feel like I wasn't alone.