Long resigned to living our lives in secret, behind closed doors, the extent of LGBTQ+ history that is untold and undocumented is unfathomable.
But thanks to projects like the documentary 100 Years Of Men In Love: The Accidental Collection, some of those stories are coming to light, photograph by photograph.
Inspired by a book of the same name, 100 Years Of Men In Love gives audiences a closer look at photography archives of married couple Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, a selection of found portraits of men from the 1850s to the 1950s.
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PHOTOS: History of gay relationships chronicled over 100 years
And they say we don’t have history…
During that time, male partnerships were often deemed illegal, so the images of (assumed) gay men together—loving, laughing, cuddling, smiling—feels especially radical.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Nini and Treadwell’s collection was deemed “accidental” because they never really thought they were collecting anything. Over the years, they simply began holding onto any image the could find of men showing affecting for one another.
With each visit to an antique shop or a flea market, their collection grew and grew, and the couple eventually realized they needed to share it with the world.
Filmmaker David Millbern tells Nini and Treadwell’s story—as well as those of hundreds of gay couples that came before them—in his hour-long documentary. Speaking with AwardsDaily, he remarks that the film is more than just a montage: “We actually go into each picture, we analyze it, we escape into it.”
Later in the conversation, Millbern elaborates on why these photos—some of which are over 150 years old—matter now, and why the seem to connect so deeply with audiences:
“People are responding to the love, the love that is captured at a time when these men could have been put in prison or lost their entire livelihood. They could have ruined their lives. Yet they felt their love mattered so much that they wanted to capture it. Little did they know those photos would survive and their love would be basically a call to action… The ability to love freely whoever we choose is basically resting on the shoulders of those who showed us the way.”
In these dark times, a film like100 Years Of Men In Love reminds us what we’re fighting for. What we’ve been fighting for.
After playing film festivals, the film made its official premiere last year, and now streams exclusively on premium LGBTQ+ network Here TV (Pro tip: If you’re not already subscribed, Amazon Prime Video offers a free 7-day trial).
You can check out the film’s trailer below:
dbmcvey
So cool! I love this kind of thing. Really looking forward to the movie!
RIGay
I do too! This is marvelous!
abfab
This is THE SHEETZ! Thanks CAM! The HYSTERICAL SOCIETY OF ALL THINGS GAY THANKS YOU!
Tallskin
God’s teeth, the airheads who run queerty run an article full of lies about JK Rowlings but don’t allow comments from us to correct the lies and misinformation!!! What a bunch of tiresome sheisters you queerty kiddies are
Meanwhile in Uganda MPs pass a bill imposing death penalty for homosexuality
Human rights campaigners condemn bill introducing capital and life imprisonment sentences. Yet not a mention in Queerty about this!!!
gjamesm40
You are the one spreading lies. Queerty has told the 100% truth about “Rowlings”.
abfab
Get your one-way London, or where ever are you living, Sheffield, to Uganda ticket now. Stop being a Chatty Kathy here and offer up some help there.
abfab
It would be so nice if Q disallowed all comments from YOU! Where do you get US from?
Sheisters. LOL
jsmu
‘Rowlings’?!?!
‘Sheisters’?!?!?!?!?!
Wow, you’re just so motherf*cking DUMB.
dbmcvey
What are you doing about the issues in Uganda?
Who are you donating to. Rainbow Rights? International Rescue Committee? Sexual Minorities Uganda?
Paulie P
It is the assumption that these men were gay, I am and my best friend is not. He is married with two children and we have some similar pics of us together. In years ahead if those images fell into someones lap they too may assume both gay but it is only a picture.
abfab
How very anecdotal of you.
dbmcvey
Wow Paulie, that didn’t mean anything.
TexasWhy
Hugh and Neal are two of my husband and my friends. They did much research and while you might be right in some cases, some are validated. The other thing in researching that they found is back in this time period photos like this of platonic men were much less likely than today. Thanks to progress.
bachy
@Texas: thank you for contributing some backstory on the images. I had the same questions as PaulieP and your comment added some much-needed perspective.
jsmu
@Paulie P
What drivelling excrement you spout. Perhaps if you READ THE BOOK and its wonderful preface you might stop embarrassing yourself so publicly!
jsmu
@TexasWhy
Please congratulate them. I’ve given their book to my husband and four other friends, and we all look at it constantly. It’s a treasure beyond description.
Huron132
It is always nice to know there were some happy moments in the queer community in the past. It hurts to think of how they may had to hide and lie just to keep themselves alive. Just think what there maybe to see in 50 years from now?
Wotan1949
This is a lovely documentary that made me smile and feel peaceful and very happy. My husband and I have very few photos together. It’s time to change that!
cosmostephen
While I applaud the initiative and good will of the filmmakers I feel it’s an enormous leap of faith the assume most of the men in these photographs were gay. Men were often photographed hugging, having an arm slung around each other’s shoulder and sometimes even planting a kiss on another male’s cheek. Brothers, cousins, friends and army buddies were more free, I feel, in previous eras to express physical affection than when the real “gay witch hunts” began early in the ‘50’s at the beginning of the McCarthy era. I think that hetero men became more self conscious and fearful at that time and that these expressions of love and affection became more and more taboo. While I’ve no doubt that at least some of the men in the photos were gay I also suspect it’s wishful thinking on our part to assume these men were all gay, loving couples. Let’s celebrate all male affection.
jsmu
Complete garbage. Your utter ignorance of the past, and of the actual photos in the book (to say nothing of its preface) is astounding.
Your idiotic remarks about gay history are completely incorrect.
bachy
Let’s celebrate all male affection.
@cosmostephen: I heartily appreciate and agree with your assessment. I contend that the importance of same-sex bonding – in all humans – is why homosexuality remains a necessary and enduring component of our shared genetic makeup.
gjg64
I have to put my thoughts in here. First let me note that I began collecting antique photos in the 1970s. I then spent a number of years cataloguing photographs at major London and US auction houses, basically daguerreotypes of the 1840s through more modern processes of the early 20th century. As much as it pains me to say this, I do not believe the majority of the subjects in these photos are what we would call gay. It’s simply that in those days and in various countries there was less mingling of the sexes, less awareness of acting “gay”, more acceptance of showing affection, etc. I’ve noticed that in posed studio photographs, for instance, the pose the photographer would sit the subjects were much more formally close than snapshots which were much more casual. Before the mid-late 19th century you literally had to “pose” for the photo which meant keep still. Only with faster exposure times were people able to act naturally…..and they did with abandon! Another point is the huge amount of “gay photos” people claim to have today……far more than would have survived if they were all gay. Also, a number of the images in the video were made in PhotoBooths in which you had to get in very close or you wouldn’t be in the frame. I truly wish this weren’t true, but my experience tells me this.
abfab
Let’s all just join hands and sing Kumbaya and talk about Ansel Adams. Om mani padme hum.
abfab
I have photos and home movies (hot) of my Uncle in the Korean war with his ”war buddies”. ”Confirmed Bachelors” was more like it. They returned, opened gas stations and kept up with each other, as they would say. So I come from good gay stock.