Figure 1.-- Chandler depicted quite a few boys weaing blouses without suit jackets. Here we see a boy wearing a blue-green blouse. The realtively small collar suggests the 1850s. This one is unusual with the short sleeves. Dresses might have short sleeves, they are unusual for boys. Notice the button drop down front for the pznts. The boy's hair done in ringlet curls. We are not sure about the boy's age. Naive atists acurtely deopicted the clothing, but the facial fatures are less reliable. We woukd guess about 5 years old.

Chandler depicted quite a few boys weaing blouses without suit jackets. Here we see a boy wearing a blue-green blouse. The realtively small collar suggests the 1850s. This one is unusual with the short sleeves. Dresses might have short sleeves, they are unusual for boys. Actually the blouse looks more like a dress bodice than the blouses we see bioys wearing. Notice the button drop-down front for the long pants. Berfore the Civil War, almost all American boys like the boy here after being breeched wore long pants. The boy's hair done in ringlet curls. While he may look like a girl, while we do not have his name, he definiteky is a boy. Girls in the 19th cdntury did not wear pants--except pantalettes. Emilia Bloomer may have invented bloomers-but almost no women wore them. They are basically absent in the photographic record. We are not sure about the boy's age. Naive artists acurately depicted the clothing, but the facial features are less reliable. We would guess about 5 years old. Note the huge straw hat. That may help with the dating. As a result of the California Gold Rush (1848), many Americans crossed the Istmus of Panama where high quality straw hats (mostly from Ecuador). They became known as 'Panama hats'. Thus when we see hats like the one here, we believe the 1850s is possible. After the 1850s we mostly see boys wearing suits for studio photographic portraits.

Created: 11:49 PM 12/21/2022
Last updated: 11:49 PM 12/21/2022