Figure 1.--This portrait was taken by the well-known Chicago photographic studio portratist George B. Petty. It was taken in 1910 and titled just "Choir Boy". The portrait has been colorized. |
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We see portraits of choir boys beginning in the late 19th century. American churches began to take an interest in boy choirs at that time. It is not always easy to destinguish between choir boys and altar boys. We think that the boys pictured with books (presumably hymnals) were choir boys. There were also differences in the costuming. Boys with floppy bows or Eton collars were likely to be choir boys. Altar boys commonly wore a floor-length Roman-style cassock with white surplice. Some but not all choir boys wore similar costumes.
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