Dear Friends cover

Dear Friends

by David Deitcher

"Dear Friends is the first book to demonstrate how common it was for nineteenth-century American men to commemorate intimate friendships with a visit to the local photographer; indeed, a look back today at these old portraits of anonymous men suggests how very affectionate those friendships could be.". "Reproducing more than one hundred never-before-published vintage photographs dating from shortly after the introduction of photography in the United States to the end of World War I, this groundbreaking book focuses attention on the evidence of a kind of physical intimacy between men that challenges the conventional view of the Victorian era as more inhibited than our own.". "David Deitcher's text combines historical research, social observation, pictorial analysis, and personal reflection to explore the nature of same-sex affection between men during that period and the meaning of its ambiguous photographic legacy for people today."--BOOK JACKET.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?