Portraits of illicit love: Extraordinary collection of images captures intimate displays of affection from defiant women who flouted convention in the 19th and 20th century

Two scantily clad women caught in an embrace in the 1940s, one of a remarkable set of images that capture female love at a time when it was considered taboo

Two women in swimsuits lovingly embracing one another, circa 1910s - long before same-sex couples were allowed in Britain. It is quite extraordinary that these images of illicit female affection still survive as many old photos of homosexual couples are believed to have been purposely destroyed by family members

Forbidden love: Two women are pictured here caught in a passionate embrace, circa 1890. Although it is unknown whether several of the people in the stunning images were related, lesbians or just friends – the tender and close relationship between the women pictured is poignantly evident

American actress Charlotte Cushman, left and British writer Matilda Hays, right, pictured here in 1858. The pair enjoyed a 10-year relationship, and Cushman was particularly famous in her home country, even entertaining President Lincoln

Female companions: Kitty Ely class of 1887 and Helen Emory class of 1889, Mount Holyoke students, USA (left); and two women dressed in men's attire, circa 1900

Dorothy Putnam and Lois Mercer in the 1930s when they started dating. The two ladies were partners for over 50 years. During World War II, Dorothy served in the Women's Ambulance and Transport Corps of California (W.A.T.C.C.), and later the Air Force, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant

Two Victorian women share a passionate kiss, circa 1880. At a time when homosexuality was kept secret, these images of same-sex couples from the 19th century are extremely rare

Two women caught in an embrace, circa 1920s (left); and Mary Edmonia Lewis, an American sculptor who worked for most of her career in Rome, Italy, seen here circa 1874 and is rumoured to have been a lesbian (right)

One woman kisses her female companion in front of a class car, circa 1950s. It is not known where this image was taken

Summer loving: Two women, who are not named, are pictured in a garden enjoying one another's company, circa 1920s

Some images in the extraordinary collection offer clues into the nature of the relationship between the women pictured (in this image, left, are two women labelled as Annabell and Gladys, circa 1900). Right: Two women share a kiss in 1950

This photograph from 1910 of two women in a close embrace was found in an attic and written on the back was 'Aunty Mary and her "friend" Ruth, 1910.' The quotation marks around friend appear to suggest there is more to their relationship

Felice Rahel Schragenheim and Lilly Wust, circa 1942. Felice and Lilly were lesbian lovers living in Berlin but Felice was deported to a concentration camp because of her Jewish heritage. She later died during a march between concentration camps. The story of the relationship between Schragenheim and Wust is portrayed in the 1999 film Aimée & Jaguar, and in a book of the same name by Erica Fischer

Forbidden love: Evelyn 'Jackie' Bross and Catherine Barscz at the Racine Avenue Police Station in Chicago, 1943. They had been arrested for violating the cross-dressing ordinance

Two women scantily clad in a garden enjoying one another's company, circa 1930s (left); and two female companions caught in an embrace, believed to be during the 1910s (right)