Artist captures the great love stories of ordinary people
Some of the greatest love stories go unseen, unheard and undocumented, simply because they’re ordinary couples living their lives.
England-based photographer, Lauren Fleishman, was inspired to create her recent book, The Lovers, a compilation of stories and photos of the great loves of everyday couples, when she stumbled upon a treasure trove of love letters her grandfather wrote to her grandmother during World War II.
“The letters were able to show me a side of my grandfather that I hadn’t known,” she told The Huffington Post. “Him as a young man, filled with the joy of being a newlywed.”
The letters were filled with a powerful passion, a testament to Fleishman’s grandparent’s long, enduring love.
“In one of the love letters, my grandfather wrote to my grandmother, 'I love you with all my heart, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.' As a young woman, it was the type of sentiment I could understand and relate to,” Fleishman said.
Fleishman was soon searching for other great love stories, which led to The Lovers, a documentation of great romances that have lasted over 50 years throughout Europe and the United States.
“I think anyone who has been in a relationship for over 50 years has a lot to offer in terms of reflections and advice,” Fleishman said. “My hope is that this work connects people of many generations.”
Yevgeniy and Lyubov Kissin married on June 29, 1941
Yevgeniy: “We met at a dancing party. It was in January 1938. My friend invited me to the party, he said there would be a lot of beautiful young girls. Another cadet with high boots had approached her, but she didn’t like high boots and so she said no to him. I was the second one to approach her. I had a different uniform, but I’m still not sure if it was my uniform or my face that attracted her to me.”
Jake and Mary Jacobs married on April 27, 1948
Mary: “Jake said to me, 'Would it ever be possible for me to marry you?' And I said, 'Possible, but not probable!' And that’s how it was. It wasn’t likely that I would ever marry him, and he knew that. So when he went home to Trinidad, my mother and father breathed a sigh of relief. But he used to write, and he said, ‘I’m thinking I might come back to England.’”
Joseph and Dorothy Bolotin married on June 16, 1938
Dorothy: “I never think of it in terms of years. I think of it in terms of good years. In love, hot romance doesn’t last forever. So I would say that yes, I think love changes. I would say we’re still in love. We still love each other. It’s focusing, doing little things. He’s an amazing man.”
Gino and Angie Terranova married on September 27, 1947
Angie: “You really don’t think about getting older. First of all, you’re aging together, and when you see a person constantly, you don’t notice big changes. Like you don’t notice, 'Oh, you’re getting a little wrinkle here,' and tomorrow you say it’s a little deeper. No, those are things that just happen. You don’t pay attention to those things. I mean, I’m not thinking every day, 'Oh, my husband’s 83 years old, he’s gonna be 84, oh my goodness, I’m married to an old man!' And I hope he feels that way too.”
Find more about Lauren Fleishman at her website.
You can purchase a copy of Lauren's book here.