“A persuasive and startling look at friendship between men in the 19th century.” —Edmund White “Certainly one of the most interesting and provocative studies of American photography to have appeared in years.” —Linda Nochlin “Invaluable and deeply affecting. . . . A sophisticated analysis of a previously little-understood aspect of the history of male-male relationships.”—Martin Duberman

This groundbreaking book presents rarely seen photographs that provide an entirely fresh perspective on male friendship in the 19th century. The poignant images in more than 100 early photographs, drawn from public and private collections, suggest a surprisingly broad-minded attitude toward physical intimacy between men, challenging the conventional view of the Victorian era as more inhibited than our own. Deitcher’s provocative text—combining history, social observation, pictorial analysis, and personal reflection—explores the nature of that same-sex affection and the meaning such pictures can hold for us today.