Photo-biography of a gay couple living in rural New Brunswick in the early 20th century, which is so far the only record of that kind of queer history in the province, and one of few in the country. One half of the couple was an amateur photographer, at the beginning of the era when middle-class people could afford easy-to-use portable cameras, and took hundreds of pictures of his daily life, including of him and his "friend" in their adventures across the county, and then serving in the army during WWI. On his death, his sister preserved the photographs, and they eventually made their way to the provincial archives, and then to this book.

Batt and Green's text largely tries to provide context for the many pictures they include, though other primary sources are scarce, and it's long enough ago that oral histories are also on thin ground. I thought they did a good job of bringing contemporary documents from other regions to explain the context and culture as well as might be done (and reminding me that I really need to read all of Jackson's One of the Boys). There's some speculation about the young men's emotional landscape, but everything's sourced so well that it feels grounded and reasonable.

Well done micro history, and a sweet story, even though it comes to a sad end.