Holmesguy:

Reference for a queer interpretation of ACD canon - This is how a gay couple was depicted in a 1919 educational film about homosexuality. This is what a gay couple looked like in the opinion of progressive medical professionals in the time that Doyle was writing. And, as noted in his official biography, Doyle’s views on homosexuality were progressive for his time. Just posting it as a reference for people wondering whether Holmes and Watson could possibly be interpreted as a couple in their own time, or whether Doyle intended or knew such an interpretation to be possible. (Holmes stories were written by Doyle from 1887 to 1927. Following in-universe timelines, Holmes and Watson would be in their 60′s by 1919.)