![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
emma_in_dream# 39 - James Gardiner, A Class Apart: The Private Pictures of Montague Glover (1992)
Montague Glover was born in the late 1890s and fought in World War One. He took photographs of men he slept with - starting with soldiers and moving on to men he met in the 20s and 30s. In the 1930s he met Ralph Hall, a working class man who became his live in chauffeur and partner for fifty years.
By chance, the records of their lives survive. This book shows Monty's photos of his friends, an excerpt from his diary in the first world war, and letters Ralph wrote to him in the second world war.
This is a really sweet collection. My favourites are Ralph's letters, which have erratic spelling but obviously come from the heart. 19 December 1942: 'This is a XMASxxxxxGIFT from your one and only darling. You dont know how much I miss you Monty. I love you darling so think good of me sweethart.'
I also adore the photos of Ralph, almost all of him clothed and leading his everyday life. There is only one nude in the entire collection. Mostly what you get to see is the very handsome Ralph gradually aging, culminating in a portrait of him in a 1970s lounge room with a ridiculously massive proto-stereo.
Montague Glover was born in the late 1890s and fought in World War One. He took photographs of men he slept with - starting with soldiers and moving on to men he met in the 20s and 30s. In the 1930s he met Ralph Hall, a working class man who became his live in chauffeur and partner for fifty years.
By chance, the records of their lives survive. This book shows Monty's photos of his friends, an excerpt from his diary in the first world war, and letters Ralph wrote to him in the second world war.
This is a really sweet collection. My favourites are Ralph's letters, which have erratic spelling but obviously come from the heart. 19 December 1942: 'This is a XMASxxxxxGIFT from your one and only darling. You dont know how much I miss you Monty. I love you darling so think good of me sweethart.'
I also adore the photos of Ralph, almost all of him clothed and leading his everyday life. There is only one nude in the entire collection. Mostly what you get to see is the very handsome Ralph gradually aging, culminating in a portrait of him in a 1970s lounge room with a ridiculously massive proto-stereo.
