You are right. But.

This specific posing style (cross-dressing and looking at eachother in the manner of married couples) has a known role in queer history, many similar photos exists of known queer couples.

And in many cases, these photos would be dangerous to produce and own. In many places illegal, in most places frowned upon. And since a photo like this was expensive and planning was necessary, their playing with the camera would need to be advanced. So, to create a photo like this involved dedication and risk taking.

But you are right, without actual letters or such, we cannot know. It is not a completely random assumption that they are in a relationship, though.

Thanks, interesting read!

Why is that important? Wikipedia is a common good, can’t we just fix the problems by working together?