It was a photo that, if leaked, was illegal. Now it's on public display
What started as a chance discovery of an old photo at a Dallas antique store has spawned a collection of more than 4,000 images of male couples, more than 100 of which are now on display in Canberra.
In a black and white photograph, two young men hold up a sign that reads 'not married but willing to be'.
It's a striking image, made more remarkable because it was taken about 125 years ago and a century before same-sex marriage was legalised anywhere in the world.
The identities of the men in the photo are a mystery, but a series of four other photos capture more tender moments between the pair.
They are some of more than 4,000 vintage snapshots of male romance collected by Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell.
Two men kissing in front of a car. (Supplied: The Nini Treadwell Collection)
The project began by happenstance 25 years ago, when the American couple first unearthed a photo of men in love at an antique store in Dallas, Texas.
"We just couldn't believe that it had ever been taken, and that it had survived what, at that point, was 70 years," Mr Nini said.
One unmistakable look throughout time
That initial discovery has taken them on a journey around the world, sourcing images from flea markets, shoe boxes, family archives and auctions.
The images date between the 1850s and the 1950s, when relationships between men were often illegal and almost always hidden from public view.
Two men lying on a bed reading. (Supplied: The Nini Treadwell Collection)
"There were trans couples back then, there were trans people back then, there were gay people back then, female couples — just as there is today," Mr Nini said.
"These people made it through perhaps difficult times and survived and were so excited about their relationships with each other that they memorialised them with a photograph that they had to keep hidden for its very survival until it somehow it ended up in our laps."
The photographs depict soldiers, sailors, wealthy couples and working-class men.
Some were taken in photo booths, others posed in studios, some couples reclined at the beach, and several were snapped kissing.
Two men sit hugging on a bench seat. The photo has the date 1951. (Supplied: The Nini Treadwell Collection)
Almost all the men in the images are anonymous, with a few handwritten inscriptions giving scant clues about their identities.