Manly Affections

The past met the present at the launch of Manly Affections: The Photographs of Robert Gant, 1885-1915 in Dunedinlast week. To celebrate the publication of the second book by Chris Brickell, the author of Mates and Lovers: A History of Gay New Zealand, Dunedinites dressed up in nineteenth-century garb and had their photos taken studio-style.

Published under the new Genre Books imprint, Manly Affections explores the intimate lives of a group of Wairarapa men as seen through the lens of Robert Gant, a gay English immigrant with a lively sense of fun and a keen eye for an attractive man. The 230 intimate images, most of them reproduced in rich sepia tones, portray a very different world of male settlers than the one we are used to. Men pose in sailor’s costumes, touch frequently and relax in one another’s company both indoors and outside. At last week’s launch, the twenty-first century Dunedinsitters embraced the spirit – and some of the themes – of their nineteenth century counterparts.

Further information, and an online order form, can be found at www.manlyaffections.co.nz