Figure 1.--We notice one studio portrait of an unidentified boy in 1934. He wears a long pants suit worn with a white open-collar shirt. He has a large white sleeve bow. The boy looked to us to be s to be about 8-9 years old. A French reder tells us that the boys is older. Click on the image for a fuller discussion. The portrait was taken by R. Guitton in Chanu, a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. As this portrait was dated, in helps in our on going effort to built a dated archive of French photographs which can hlp to date indated portraitrs.

We notice one studio portrait of an unidentified boy in 1934. He wears a long pants suit worn with a white open-collar shirt. He has a large white sleeve bow. The boy looks to be about 8-9 years old. The portrait was taken by R. Guitton in Chanu, a commune in the Orne department in north-western France, just south of the Normandy peninsular. A commune is a kind of incorporated town (municipality) or village. The Orne River featured prominatly in the D-Day landings during World War II. The portrait was an gold framed oval formatted cabinet card. Having the date helps us to date these style cabinent cards. A French reader writes, "I don't think this boy is 8/9 years old. At this time in Frannce, a child was began the cathechist at 8 years old, and it generally took 3 years to completre. As aesult, he coudn't do his solenm Communion before age 11/12 years old. So, it is no possible to see a child younger than 11/12 years participating in French Communion ceremonies. The best catechist pupils was prepared to do their first communion at 9 or 10 years. But this first communion was rather a ordinary Sunday, and the child was dressed as usual Sunday, whitout alb or armband. Instead, the Solenm Communion is a great day, children are well dressed. Before the 1950s, sometime a boy wore his first long pants for his First Communion. Then, he wore the long pants again only for Sunday during the following winter when he was 12/13 years. Later, next spring his mother often purchased a short pants suit rather than another long pants suit, although this of course varied from family to family. The boy was then 13/14 years old. But in school, little changed. Boys still mostly wore short pants, The same was true for casual and play wear. A factor here was social class. Working clas boys were more likely to wear long pants at an earlier age. It should be nored in assessing these photographs that until after World War II (1939-45) that children were smaller and looked younger. And they were dressed in more juvenile styles. Puberty occurred later than is the case today, largely as a result of diet. Girls did not become young ladies until after 14 years. Today many girls begin to mature at about age 11 years. Boys often did not have their voices break until age 14 years and , often 15 years. Now age 12 years is more common. I am convinced that the boy here can't be younger than 11 years of age."

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Created: 2:11 AM 6/11/2011
Last edited: 5:40 AM 6/16/2011