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The HBC biography section is for people or families that have achieved some degree of notariety or fame. HBC readers in many cases have submitted family portraits. HBC has until now not added them to the biography section. We believe now that this is a mistake. Many of the HBC readers contributing family portraits can also provide details about the boy and him family. This background information help us to assess social trends and put the fashions involved in perspective. This is just why the biographical section is an important part of HBC. As a result, HBC has decided to create pages for these relatively unknown people, when some basic family data is available. Incidentally if you find a relative here, please do tell us somehing about him. Here we are listing these biographies alpahabetically to facilitate looking up individual names. The alphabdetical list is the primary data base in this section. While we have not persued geneolgical resreach on these individual, having the names and in many cases the loaction provide the potential to acquire more back ground information in the future which may provide additonal insights into the fashion and life style trends.
Robert D'Amicio did his First Communion on April 13, 1947. The portrait shows him in his white short pants suit which would have been purchased judst for the occassion. He has a white floppy bow rather than a necktie. This was one of the last times we have noted boys wearing floppy bows rather than a necktie. He also had a First Communion sleeve bow. His suit has knee-length shorts and short socks worn with white shoes. Robert is holding a prayer book and rosary beeds. I am not sure where he is from, but he may have lived in Massachsuettes.
This 1862 CDV is one of the earliest CDVs we have archived on HBC. It is a Civil War school scene. The portrait shows two school chums, Fred Newcomb and Wolcott Daboll. The boys are posed in Civil War style uniformsand muskets. One boy has a bayonet added. The uniforms have a star on the chest. The boys attended the Hill St. School, we believe in New London, Connecticut. We believe this was a private school. This and the elaborate uniforms suggest to us that the boys came from an affluent family. The uniforms suggest that the school was a military school, but I don't think this was the case. The uniforms seem more a kind of patriotic exercise, perhaps used for drill. The boys were part of Star Company. I think this was a fairly small school, so there may not have been other companies. We are not sure about that. The photographer was Morgan & Bolles in , New London.
This photo-back postcard of Paul Burnham Dailey. He was 3 years and 9 months old. The photograph was taken February 7, 1914. Mother has done his hair in ringlets. Ringlets were becoming less common for boys by the 1910s, but we still see some examples, especially before World War I. Paul is wearing a sailor-style tunic suit. Tunic suits were very popular for younger boys. Notice the embroidered anchor on his dickey. Mother has arranged his back to ensure that his ringlerts were reflected in a mirror. She has done a small number if very thick curls. Clearly mother was very proud of her handiwork. Paul also wears dark long stockings and high-top shoes. Unfortunately we do not know where Paul lived.
This is Judy and Schuyler Dalton from Huntington, Long Island in New York. They look to be done up in new snow suits for an outing in a wooded area of Long Island. The snpshot is undated, but would hsve been tken in the late-1930s.
This photo was taken in Caerano, a village near Venice, in 1939. It shows two brothers, Walter and Dino Danieli.
Dino, the elder brother, wears a traditional dark sailor suit. Walter wears a white dress and strap shoes. Both bears have white anklets. The boys look about 1-5 years old. Itblookslike mother is trying to curl Walter's hair.
We know that the boy who wore this skirted suit was Harry Danniel, but we know nothing more definitively about him. He apparently was born in the late 1850s. He either was born or raised in San Diego, California, although we are not positive about this.
This looks to be an early America caninet card. The first cabinet cards appeared onky in 1866. The portrait looks like the late-1860s to us, but the early-70s is possible based on the set. We do know the name of the boy, Agustus Davies who was 5-years old. Augustus wears a kilt suit. It has Scottish touches like military cuffs and a large belt buckle. These were usually only seen with Highland kilt outfits. There are bows where a sporan might be. Bows like this were very rare. The kilt suit fashion was just beginning and comventions had not yet been established. White long stockings are unusual with kilt suits. This was more aeflection of popukar hisiert trends. Whir stocking were prevalent in the 1860s. The kilt suit was just beginning to be a major style for American boys. This is one of the few examples, however wurh the boy wearing white instead of dek stickings. This is vecuse after the 60s, white long stocking began going out of style. The studio was Slee Bros. in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Photograpic portraits of children were generally made of sibling, but in the larger and more cloesly connected families in the 19th and early 20th century, sometimes cousins were photographed together. This is the case here with Den Davies and we think Lo Benta. At least on the back there is an inscription "Lo benta + Ben Davis (cousins)". They look to be about 8-10 years old. Lo benta of course is not a recognizable name, but we are not sure what else it would be. This is a very late caninet card, al least according to the dealer. It is not dated, but the girl's finger wave flapper hair style clearly dates it to the 1920s. She is wearing a dark dress with a light colored lace collar. By the 1920s lace collars had become exclusively for girls. She seems to be wearing lipstick to go along with the flapper hair styling. She also has white anklets and patent "T"-strap shoes. That is something that we have not seen before and some at the time would have seen as rather sandelous by most people. Ben is wearing a white short pants suit with grey or colored ankle socks and fashionable two-tone low cut shoes. They are sitting on a studio bench. The decorated cabinet card has no studio information. The photo measures 6.5" x 4.5". the whole cabinet card measures 9.5" x 6.75".
This cabinet card portrait was taken in 1901 of two little boys wearing sailor caps with "USS Maine" sailor caps. This was only 3 years after the USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor, igniting the Spanish-American War. The portrait was taken by G.W. Lumbard in Syracuse Nebraska. The family name of the two little boys is Davis and they were from Elgin Nebraska. Their names are Raymond and Earl. It appears their father's name is Geo. or George Davis. The boys were 3 and 4 years old when the portrait was taken.
Here we see a portrait of Elmer Dayton. He wears a suit with a cut-away jacket. The jacket, however, does not match the pants. We see a dark shirt, but we can not make out much detail. He wears long pants with his suit. They look to be button-on pants. Knickers and kneepants were after the Civil War becoming increasingly popular for younger boys. Shortened length pants were very common with cut-away jackets, but as we see here they were also worn with long pants. Many boys even younger boys Elmer's age still wore long pants. Notice the cap Elmer is holding. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. There is a transcription on the back. It reads, "Fredericksburg, March 2nd, 1870, Elmer Dayton age 6 years 9 months, To cousin Adin"
This cabinet portrait shows a little boy leaning on a carpet covered chair. He is dressed in a kilt suit with frog adornments. There is a small polkadot nbow, but not large collar which haf become popular. He also has black long stockings, and high button shoes. The photograph was taken at the Stanley studio located Opposite American Hotel, 253 Broad St Waverly, New York City. It is claims 'Extra Finish'. The boys name written on the back is Wesley Lamont De Laney. Wesley according to the dealer was born in 1883 in Pennsylvania. He looks to be about 5 years old, so if the birth date is right the portrait would have been taken about 1888. At the time lrge bows and collars had become very popular, but as we see here were not universal.
An Argentine reader tells us, "Octavio De Mayo is 9 years old and has been awarded the title of Page by The Order of Saint of Jerusalem. He lives in the City of Buenos Aires and the reason of the award if that since he was 6 yers old six he goes with his mother - a friend of mine - once a week to visit the ward of premature babies.
Octavio was himself a premature baby and neither he nor his mum have forgotten that and Octavio visits the ward of new premature babies to be there with them and also give comfort to the mothers and fathers, that by seeing him, a wonderful and handsome boy, they know there's hope. I thought the cassock of Page given to Octavio by the O. of St, JofJ could be an item of interest to HBC readers. I am also attaching a snap shot of Octavio in his school uniform."
This cabinet card portrait shows Harry B. Decker who looks to be about 8 years old. He wears an elegant cut-away jacket suit with heavy enbroiered frogging. The vested suit has knee pants. Knee pants by the 1880s had become fairly standard for younger boys, although not yet common for older boys. This begn to chage by the end of the decade. Harry wears long stockings and high-top shoes, almost universal at the time in America. The cut-away jacket we see in the 1860s and even 70s were often plain. This suit had a rather loud pattern. Harry has a large Eton collar and colorful floppy bow. Mother has slicked down his hair and combed it with a sharp razor part. On the back he is identifed as the son of Lom Henry and May (Hogett) Decker. The portrait is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1880s. The studio is Glines in Boston, Massachuetts.
Here we see an American boy photographed with toys. We assume they were the studio props (especially the trike) and not his own toys. It does show, however, the types of toys popular in the 1890s. We see books, buggle, gun, trike, and top(out of the picture to the left). Notice the metal wheels and pedals. The boy was was Frank E. Deeds. He was 4 years, 4 months old. The cabinet card portrait was taken in February 1895. Put your cursor on the image for a closeup of the books and trike. The photographer ws C.L. Sweet in Springfield, Missouri.
HBC notes a minature portrait of Charles Delacroix, a child who we believe to be a member of a prominent New Orleans family. The portrait executed in a naive or primative style is actually quite well done. We date it to about the 1840s. The artist provides some fine details on Charles' clothing.
Here is an amazing period presentation of two English ninth plate daguerreotypes of children doing sums on a chalkboard. They are mounted on period gilt-paper rather than in cases which we have found in America. I'm not sure how common this was a way of displaying are archiving dags in England. We have not noted it in America. There is a period inscription on the reverse "Jane Elizabeth Anne Dennis age 7 years 27 May / Edward John Dennis age years 11.... 11th July / James Alexander Dennis aged 9 years 17th May / done at Highgate on the day of Thanksgiving November 15th 1849 / from the town being... relieved from Cholera / by E Dennis". The girl looks to be wearing a dress. I'm less sure what the boys are wearing. It looks to be tunic outfits or perhaps smocks worn with small white collars and bows. The scene with slates looks rather like achool scene, but I believe the portraits were taken at home. I'm not sure if these were the clothes the children would have worn to school. The dags here are unique, engaging and evocative. These beautiful little ninth plates have a dark tonality, as corresponds to their amateur origin. I would read the inscription to mean that E. Dennis, a relative and very likely the children's father, was the photographer who produced them. Front glass has been replaced.
Lonnie was a 8-yearold boy was was known as a "Baby Preacher". While we know little about him, a surviving pgotographic image does show how he was dressed. Lonnie in this portrait looks to be about 8 or 9 years old. The ringlets, however, priobably make him look younger than he is, so he may be as old as 10 years. That is probably the upper limit. Also if he was older than 10, I doubt if even mother would have called himma "Baby Preacher".
Lonnie wears a presumably dark navy blue knee pants (note the side buttons) sailor suit with long dark stockings. His sailor suit is very plain with little detailing, except some nuted stripes ion the "v" collar. He wearsit with a dickey that has two v-shaped stripes below what appears to be an anchor. The sailor suit was quite a common outfit for a boy this age. There are no notable special enbelushments. Mother has not selected a fancier or more juvenile suit style to accentuate his age. Mother has kept Ronniein ringlet curls. It is unclear how his hair id done in the back, but there are two rather slender side ringlets coming almost to his shoulders. Mother has even added hair bows. I'm not sure if he wore the hairbows when preeching, or that they were just added for the portrait. But at this age you might imagine that he would have objected to bring done up with hairbows for the portrait if he was not used to wearing them. to accentuate
This standard cabinet card portrait shows a boy with long hair, but not done in the more common ringlet styling. He is wearing what was probably caklled a kilt suit at the time. The skirt, however, has no kilt styling. Thus it would be more correctly called a skirt suit. The outfit was done in velvet. We are not sure about the color, but it was clearly not black. We might guess a light-blue. The portrait is undated, but we would guess the 1880s, in part because the boy is not wering a Fauntleroy blouse. He is wearing a blouse, but it has a rather simple ruffled collar. The mount does not look like a 1870s style and the blouse does not look like the fancy ones popular in the 1890s. He is sitting by an upright piano. We are not sure if this means that he was learning to play. The boy is identified on the verso as 'Master R. Demarst, age 6 years'. We do not know what the initial stands for, but Robert seems likely. The studio was W. J. Root, Chicago, Illinois.
This portrait shows an English boy named John Denton. He looks to be about 6-7 years of age. John wears a front buttoning tunic with piping in an contrasting color. The tunic looks to be done in a light color. He wears long white pants with the tunic. We are not sure if this would be a fasshionable sea side resprt utfit or a school outfit. The white pants would seem to suggest summdr resort rather than school wear. John holds a whip, probably a studio prop. One might guess this was to emphasize the fact that he was a boy, but girls did not wear tunics. The photograph was taken from an album. Written on the back in ink is, "John Denton 1858 Southport". The longish hair covering his ears conforms the date. Southport is a seaside resort north of Liverpool. The dealer thinks this may be a Calotype photo. He says, "The image is a matte image on paper and has a very different look and feel to others I have. Someone has suggested it may be a platinum print but I am not really sure." The size is approximately 11 cm by 16 cm, about the size of a cabinet card.
Pierre Carrier-Belleuse was a Parisian painter who painted mostly women, including many dancers. He painted one boy, almost certainly a commission. The boy is Emile Jean Deschanel. He looks to be about 10 years old. He was the son of Paul Deschanel who was President of the Chamber of Deputies (1902-12) and then President of France (February - September 1920). He resigned on account of ill health, hence the short term of office. The importance of the father perhaps accounts for the importance of the portrait, and why it departed from Carrier-Belleuse' normal subjects The portrait was painted in 1913. It is unusual in two respects. First, not only is it the only child portrait by Belleuse that we can find. Second, the sailor blouse had short gathered sleeves. This is something we do not see in the photographic record.
This CDV portrait shiw Georges Wattinne Desurmont. It is bnot datted, but as we know Georges was born in 1869 and he looks to be about 4 years old, we would guess the portrait was taken about 1872-73. He wears a dress with four strioes on the lower skirt. We can't describe it in detail because he wears a dress over it. We are not sure why mother idn't have Georges take off the coat, perhaps thre was a series of shots. His outfit is completed with white long stockings and high-top button shoes. Georges holds what looks like a fur-trimmed hat, but we are unsure how to describe it. H has short hair cut at avout ear level. The portrait is useful because we are able to date it so closely. The studio was Maujean in Paris.
The back of this portrait identified the children as Dale, Richard and Ruth Dettmer . The portait is not dated, but we would guess was taken in the early 1920s. The older boy wear a white shirt and tie with knickers and long black stockings. His younger brother wears a button-on sailor suit, kneespcks, and saddle shoes. Their little sister wears a white dress, white long stockings, and strap shoes.
This cabinet card portrait shows Frederick G. Deveraux in 1892. Frederick was age 4 years and 3 months old. The portrait was taken February 29, 1892, a rare leap year portrait. Frederick who was probably called Fred or Fredie at that age what might be called a Fauntleroy kilt suit. He has what looks like a ruffled collar and matching wrist cuffs. The front of the blouse is rather plain. He has a large colored bow, perhaps a red bow. The jacket is a classic velvet cut-away jacket. The kilt/skirt is a kind of plaid, but does not have actual kilkt styling, nor is it pleated. The portrait is clear enough to mske out the texture of the fabric. He is posed with a boy-sized walking stick. The studio was Chas. F. Tupper, Binghamton, New York. The front is finished in white with embossed gold print. The back has an artistic photographer's logo and the enscriotion telling us about Fredie..
We see Elmer Dewey in an undated photograph about 1920. We know from both the clothing and the photographic format that it was an early-20th century photograph. The white whicker furniture usually means the turn of the 20th-century, but the boy's clothes, especially the short pants look more like the 1920s. Elmer wears a plain long-sleeved shirt, short pants, light-colored long stockings, and high-top shoes. We know nothing about Elmer except that he was nicknamed Earl. We have no idea where he was from. He looks to be about 7-years old. This is a rare portrait of a black child with curls.
Here we have a wonderful colorized Daguerreotype portrait. All we know about the boy is that his name was Elisha Dickerman because he is identified in a period pencil loose note. Elisha looks to be about 6 years old. We have no idea where he was from in America. He has long shoulder-length ringlet curls. The portrait is colorized, but in this case Ekiza is wearing black or dak-colored clothing so the studio has mostly colorized the table cloth. We are not sure when the portrait was taken, but gicen that it is a Daguerreotyoe, we are probably talkibng about the 1840s or early 50s. We tend to think the early 50s because of the boy's clothing. One interesting aspect of the portrait was that Elisha's jacket buttons are closed at top and bottom, but open in between. His hand is atop a slim white cane. 5 Notice his big gold ring. Also interesting is his fancy white hat with robin's egg blue band.
This classic 6.25" x 4.25" cabinet card portrait shows 6-year old John R Dickhant. I might have guessed a little younger. Some times the ringlets make a child look younger. His name is written on the back, but there is no studio information. The grey-green colored mount suggests the 1900s, we would guess about 1900-05. He wears a classic striped sailor suit with a button blouse and matching pants. Hus sailor suit is completed wuith a lasrge anchor embroidered dickey. He does not have a scarfe, but has a white lanyard. He has loosely curled ringlets. This was a style still seen in the early-1900s, but then rapidly declined in popularity. It canme from a San Diego estate, but we have no way of knowing if the family was from San Diego.
This cabinet card studio portrait is little unusual as the print goes almost to the edges of the cabinet card except for thevstuydio information at the bottom. The portait is of a 3 1/2 year boy named Dudley McDaniel Diggs. It was dated June 1890. Dudley holds a huge, dark flat top wide-brimmed hat. The flat top is a light collar. There is a fark wedge-awrea ob the top of the hat where twin wide straemers are attached. He is wearing a light colored variated plaid-like kilt suit. It looks like a light-weight summer fabric. The kilt skirt is very long. The sleeves are cut just below the elbows. There is a connecting tab at the collar for the cut-away jacket. We see narrow vertical pieces on the jackets and sleeves. We see these devices on Highland kilt jackets, but usually on dark jackets. We are not sure about the proper term. The portrait was taken by the Rogers & Gray Studio in Lynchburg Virginia.
This cabinent card portrait shows Charles Melvin Dixon who wa 4 years old when his portrait was taken. It is an dated studio portrait. The style of the mount, however suggess that the portrait was taken in the 1900s. The early 1910s is possible, but the 1900s seems more likely. Carles is done up in white. Je wears a white collar bow, white tunic, white bloomer knickers, white long stockings, and white shoes with little white bows. Details are difficult to make out in this all white outfit. Although difficult to see, it looks like is wearing a white Eton collar. The collar bow is modest in size compared to the bows we see in the 1890s which also helps to date the image. There is a studio imprint, but it is difficult to read. I think the town is Norwood, Massachusetts.
Here we see John Edison Doan with his family in 1898. They wre photographed in Rainier Oregon. Their parents are Hohn Henry Doan and Jarrett Adaline. The girls are Jane Elizabeth, Addie Mae, and Nellie Vashti. The children look to be about 6-12 years old. John may be about 8-9 years and has very short hair. He wears a Fauntleroy blouse with a fancy front and large ruffled collar. We can't tell much about the suit other than it is a knee pants suit. The girls seem to be wearing pinafore dresses. All the children seem to be wearing black long stockings. The exposur privides few details about the dresses and suit. The photograph is interesting because it is was taken outdoor and not a studio shot. We begin to see amteir snapshots in the 1890sm bit only in the 1900s do we see them in large numbers. The photograph here is 6 x 8 in with no border.
This charming cabinet card portrait of a young boy about 3 years old is identified as Burt Dodge, as written in ink on the back of the card. We know nothing about Bert and his family. His outfit suggests that they lived in comfortable circumstances. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was taken in the 1880s. Bert is dressed in a frilly Fauntleroy blouse shirt with a large bow at the neck. He has a kilt suit. The jacket is a small Fauntleroy -style jacket designed to best display the fancy blouse. There is a matching kilt-skirt, long black stockings and high button shoes. The light color and material suggests that this is a summer outfit. Bert has a tiny gold ring on his right hand. Rings like this were not very common. His hair is short, cut in bangs. The photographer, Flodin & Thyberg, 411 Main Street, Worcester, Massachussetts. So we know that Bert was from Woocester.
This Tintype was found with a CDV of the Moore store in Taylorsville, Tennessee and other CDVs and tintypes. They were together in an envelope marked Tennessee. We were told they were all from the same area. Some CDVs have a Taylorsville photographer's backmark. This is a very charming tintype portrait. A little boy is dressed like an adult in a shirt with a bow tie and a hat. He's not wearing the usual boy's clothing of the era and looks like a grown up! He is identified on the back in scripted pencil as Dick Donnelly. His proper name would have been Richard. We believe this to be from the Taylorsville (now Mountain City) area of Tennessee. There is a Richard Donnelly who is prominent in Taylorville and mentioned in the 1868 Johnson County Claims Comission. This could be his son. The tintype is in a paper sleeve with an oval opening. We estimate this to be from the late 1860s or early 70s.
This portrait shows an American American boy wearing a dark blouse and floppy bow. We are not sure about the colors. The bow could have been read, w are not at all sure what color the blouse was. He had a stiff Eton collar. He also wears knee pants and probably black long stockings. The portrit is undated, but looks to have been taken about 1905. We do not know where it was taken, but we do have the boy's name--Charles Dorff.
We have a photograph of a boy named George Dorsey. He is clearly an American boy, but we know nothing about his family or where he lived. All we know is that the photograph was taken in 1923. George looks to be about 4 years old. He wears what looks like a sailor suit without the traditional detiling. This was a wash suit, a play suit which could be easily washed. We're not sure about the color, perhaps grey. He also has white knee socks and white "t" strap sandals. We would guess that he was from a well-to-do family, not so much because of the sailor suit, but the white knee socks abd sandals suggest that he wears.
This CDV portrait shows a boy and his dog. His name is enscribed on the back. It looks like Bernard Doswell, although we are not positive. The photographic studio was C. R. Rees & Co. in Richmond, Virginia. Bernard is holding a puppythat he is trying to keep still. Studios commonly provided props, but we think live pets must have belonged to the subjects. He wears a sack suit with broad lapels and crosstie with long pants. The date is printed with the photographers information on the basck of the card. There is no printented information about the studio on the front of the card.
Here we have a portrait of William Dougherty. He was presumably from St. Louis, Missouri because his portrait was taken at the Murillo studio there. The portrait is not dated but we would guess that it was taken about 1905. His elegant sailor suit looks like the styles popular at the turn of the 20th century. The style of the portrait mount suggest that the portrait was taken in the 1900s, roughly anout 1905. William wears a fancy suit, buckled shoes, and long curls. Notice how the jacket decorated with elaborate buttons does not close so as to show off a fancy dickey.
Here we have a portrait of Jo... Gordon Downhill. He stands on a landscape background, holding a book in his hand. He is seen inside a painted oval. He seems to be dressed in a kilt and he holds a hat (probably a Glengary) in his left hand. He has a friendly and open expression. The artist is an unidentified British painter. The painting is unsigned, but has an old inscription on the reverse: "Jo..Gordon Downill born Wednesday 4th May 1843. This painting done by Mr. Be... nov. 1854". We believe that the boy is prbably Scottish, because Queen Victoria promoted the fashion of dressing boys in kilts during the 1840s, so he could bre Scottish. I'm not sure if Downhill is an English or Scottish name, but the background seems Scottish to me.
This cabinet card card did not indicate the studio. It is a standard size, but the mount, especially the color, suggests it is one of the new styles that appeared about the turn-of-the 20th century. This and the Fauntleroy clothing suggest that the portrait was taken about 1900-05. We do know the boy's name--Clarence L. Dresser. He looks to be about 5 years old. Clarence has an elaborate Fauntleroy blouse, but without matching wrist cuff ruffles. He also has a large floppy bow, white knee pants, and black long stockings. His hair in done in ringlets, but with the hair drawn back at the fortehed instead if bangs. He holds a coronet, but this is probably a studio prop rather than an instrument he is kearning to play.
This Rhode Island cabinet portrait shows the three Drowne boys identified as Chrissie, Robbie and Fred Drowne. It was probably taken during the 1870s. The studio photographer was Brownell & Co., 90 Westminster St, Providence, Rhode Island. We are not sure who is who, but the normal convention was to use the same order as the boys were depicted beginning from the left. The boys proper names were Christopher Stafford, Robert Holden, and Frederick Peabody Drowne. These names were from our own research. The card uses only their identifies sentimental names. Only two of the boys have been breeched. Here the boys wear a dress, a kilt suit, and a knee pants suit. Family images like this help to clarify breeching conventions. The boys look to be about 2-7 years old. The two boys wearing skirted outfits are clearly pre-school bioys, we would say about 2-4 years old.
Here we have a photo postcard. It is undated, but we would gues was taken about 1910. As the card was sent by Stanley Durham, we can only assume this is his son. We do not know the boy's first name, but surely his last name is Durham. That sounds rather like a Scottish name, but they lived in Southport which I believe is in England. The boy is dressed in a Highland kilt complete with tam and eagle feather. He wears his kilt and tweed jacket with an Eton collar. We do not know if he is wearing a kilt because of family connections or he is just an English boy being dressed fashionably. The card was sent to a Miss G.Gaskell who was vacationing on the IOM (Isle of Man).
Here we see what seems to be two French children as the portrait was taken in France. The photographer was Ordinaire of Dinard [Brittany, France]. The portrait is undated, but it looks to us was taken in the 1880s. A pencilled inscription on the reverse of the mount identifies the sitters. The girl is Florence Drury-Lowe; the boy, who is wearing a sailor suit, is fittingly identified as �Admiral Sydney�. The inscription is prophetic � Sydney Drury-Lowe later entered the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of Vice-Admiral. Since the woman he married when he grew up was a granddaughter of both the Earl of Wemyss and the Earl of Albemarle, he appears in the Peerage. His full name was Sydney Robert Drury-Lowe and he was the son of Colonel Robert Henry Curzon Drury-Lowe. He married Clare Susan Charteris (1909). She was the daughter of Captain Hon. Fredrick William Charteris and Lady Louisa Keppel. Vice-Admiral Sydney Drury-Lowe died January 24, 1945.
This CDV is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1860s, in part because of the Daguerreotype-like pose.
On the back, the boy is identified as Albert Du Bois. He is wearing ringlet currls and what looks like an early version of ailt suit. The suit and kilt suit have black velvet trim. The kilt skirt is done in a bright plaid. He also has plain white pabtalettes and white long stockings. It does not have kilt styling, but does have wide box pleats. The portraits were taken in the Lawrence studio of Newburgh, New York. Albert was from Fishkill. Unfortunately we don't get to see the hat he may have worn.
This boy's name is Louis Dubois. Written at the bottom of the CDV is "Louis Dubois fils d'Oscar". (Louis Dubois son of Oscar Dubois.) A French reader tells us that Dubois is one of the most classical French family names. He looks to be about 5 years old. We do know he was from Macon. We are not sure where that is in France. The portrait was probably taken in the late 1870s. We know that because a 1877 prize was noted on the back. Thus the portrait was surely tken in the late 70s or very early-80s. It is a little difficult to make out Louis' outfit, but it looks like a tunic with a white collar. He seems to be wearing long white stockings and pantalettes with his tunic.
The handwriting on the back of this cabinet card is unclear. His first name is George. The last name is unclear but looks to us like Duere. The portrait was taken in 1909. Which is roughly confirmed by the new style mount. All we know about Georrge is tjhat when he grew up he was 'Harriet's dad'. George wears a stylish white sailor cap with a chevron badge and matching white sailor suit. There is what looks to be a light-blur collar and stripes anf matching scarfe. It was a knickers suit. We begin to see American boys wearing knickers rather than knee pants at this time. White sailor suits were popular summer wear, but were often worn with black long stockings especially by older boys. George looks to be bout 8-9 years old. He wears high-top lace up shoes. The studio information was impressed, common with the new style mounts. The portrait was taken at Post's Studio in Denver, Colorado.
This cabinet porteait shows two American boys all dressed up. It is from the Merrifield studio in Arlington, Oregon. on the back in handwriting, it states: "Eddie & Ron, Dunlop boys from Condon, 1905-6-7?". We are not sure why someone was unsure about the date. It suggests that the enscription was made some time after the portrait was taken. The boys look about 5-6 years old. Condon is a small town not far from Arlington. Arlington was a small town on the banks of the Columbia River that was moved up the hill in the early 1960s, when the river was damed. The younger boy wears a jacketed sailor suit. His older brother wears a suit jacket and vest. Both boys wear knee pants and black long stockings.
This American boy was John Dyer named as Johnny on the back of the cabinet card. He looks to be about 8-9 years old. The most destintive aspect of the portrait is Johnny's a little off center ceter oart and the swept up sides. We have no idea how to identify this hair style, surely the wotk of a very fashion concious moter. He has an Eton collar amf large floppy bow. He looks to be wering a collar buttoning jacket. Notice the jacket belt, an element of Norfol styling. His outfit is completed with knee pants, long stockings, and high-top shoes. The studio was C.E. Shorey in Augusta, Maine.
This cabinent card was found in a collection of Nevada photographs. There is, however, not studio information at the bootom of the card. Someone has written "Ruby Early" which we take to be the youth's name.
He is wearing a suit with very small, high set lapels. He is holding a large bowler hat. We notice quite a few teenagers wearing bowlers at the time. The dealer has described it as: CARDBOARD PHOTO;BOY/RUBY EARLY;1887Y/DOG; SCHREINERL;BAD NEUENAHR 1897. We are not sure just what this means. Presumably this is information from the back of the card. It seems to suggest it is German, but the cryptic text is rather confusing.
This American boy wears his long hair in ringlet curls. His name is Chris Eckenfels. He looks to be about 4 years old. He wears a velvet suit trimmed and a large satin bow. Chris' mother seems to have really liked bow. The suit is a classic cut-away jacket and knee pants. The jacket is connected with a large bow and there are bows at the knee hem of the pants. The photographer was the Chesnutt Brothers in Cleveland, Ohio. The portrait is undated, but the style of the clothes and card suggest it was taken in the 1890s.
This studio portraits shows two brothers, Donald and Francis Edinger. They look to be about 6-9 years of age. It was taken at the Sol Young Studios, a respected New York City studio. It was 6 by 8 inces. `Donald wears a clasic tunic suit done in a dailor style witgh a white dickey and floppy bow. checked material. We are no sure about the color. the cut of the tunic is well above the knee so we see his bloomer knickers. We are not sure if that was stylistic or Donald had grown a bit. Francis wears a double-breasted knickers suit. Both boys wear dark long stockings, fairly xommon at the time. The portrait of the boys is undated. The dealer suggested it was taken 1901-11. This is possible, but most American boys wore knee pants suits in the 1900s and mostly knickers in the 1910s. Thus we would guess the 1910s, probably the early 1910s.
This is a wonderful Daguerreotype portrait of Edward D. Edwards, we believe in the 1840s. One of the problems in working with Daguerreotypes is that so few are unidentified or dated. Thus we have trouble differentiating between the dags taken in the 1840s and 50s. Edward was 10 years old when this portrait was taken. It is also interesting because it was an otdoor portrait, probably because his father was a Daguerreotypeist. Edward stannds with a donkey in front of a building, presumbly his home. He wears a military-styled peaked cap. Note the shiny peak or bill. He also wears a belted tunic. The portrait may have been lightly tinted. He holds the reins firmly and looks intently at the Daguerreotypist intently, presumably his father. Edward was the son of early Daguerrean artist Jonas M. Edwards who wotked in both Washington, D.C. (1842-44) and New York City (18440-46). He was partners with Edward Anthoy in the Faguerreotype Studio Anthony, Edwards & Co, both in Washington and New York. There is a reference to the portrait being taken at Hunter, presumably Hunter, New York. It is a one-quarter dag, housed in a full plain leather case, red silk insert.
Richard E. Egan (1842-1919) was born in Massachusettes. He was 5 years old when the family made the treck west to Utah. He was one of the teenagers attracted by the Pony Express ads. Richard was 17 years old when he signed up. He was a little old to be a rider, but was an experienced horseman and knew the area well. He was the first rider to carry the Pony Express mail from Salt Lake City to Rush Valley. He continued with the Pony Express for the entire 18 months duration. He got narried while still riding, but was only allowed one sunstitute rider.
This CDV portrait shows a Canadian boy, William P. Egg. He has an Eton collar and large white floppy bow. We are not sure if he is wearing a jacket or smock. He may be wearing a school outfit. He has written on the back of the card, "To Dear Mrs. Bryson. From Wm. P. Egg." Mrs. Bryson may have been his teacher. The portrait was taken,
at the Wm. Notman & Son studio, 14 Philips Square, Montreal. Noman was a prestigious Canadian photographer. As it was taken in Montreal, one might assume that William was a French Canadian boy, but the note is written in English and Egg seems to be an English nasme. The number 1253w is also written on the back. This appeas to be the photographer's file number. The portrait is undated. The clothes and ivory mount suggest the 1890s to us. We are less sure about the torso print style. The CDV format was not very common in America by the 1890s, but we believe that they persisted in Canada a little longer. .
Bradley Elliott had a formal portrait taken in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Bradeley looks to be about 6-7 years old. The portrait is undated. We bdlieve it was taken about 1910. Bradley wears a tunic suit which was a popular style in the early 20th cntury in the 1900s and 10s. The style of the portrait, a large print with a three-ply paper frame suggests to us that it was taken in the late 1900s or early 1910s. He wears an all white tunic suit wurg bloomer knickers and white long stockings. It is a rather ekegant tunic suit with no detailing and trim. He does have a fob of some kind.
Emery Washington Elliot was 3 1/2 years old when his portrait was taken at the Perkins studio in San Francisco. The cabinent card is undated, but it looks to be from the early 1880s. Emery wears dark a plaid kilt suit with a bow and ruffled collar. The bow is what suggests the early 80s to us, even perhaps the late 70s. It is not the floppy bow style that was so popular in the 1880s. He also has striped stockings and high-top shoes. His hair is cut short with a side part.
This CDV is a portrait of C.C. Ellis. He looks to be about 6 years old. The portrait is undated, but looks like it wa taken about 1870, either in the late-1860s or early-70s. We might guess the late-60s, but the rounded corners and front printing of the mount suggest the early-70s. C.C. has an elavorate hair style with a top roll and long ringlts. He wears a button on outfit that was popular at the time. We do not see a collar, but he has what looks like a small bow. We are not sure just what the shoulder arrangement is. The pants were very long, but above the ankles and tapered. The stockings are striped. He stands besids an ornate table with a wheel toy horse, perhaps made by Hull & Stafford. The studio backdrop is very basic, but more than the plain wall and curtain arrangement often seen in 1860s CDVs. The studio was W.H. Moore in Marion, Ohio.
Henry George Tierney Elton eas born in Clifton nerar Bristol (1825). He is seen herre as a boy in a painting by Edward Villiers Rippingille (1798-1859). It was painted (1831). Henry would have been about 6 years old. This would have been at the end of the extended Regency Era and on the cusp of the Victorian Era. Henry was eleventh child and youngest son of Sir Charles Abraham Elton 6th Bt (1778-1853) and Sarah Smith (1782-1830). This meant Sarah died while Henry was very young, in fact before the portrait was painted. Heney sits on a rocky edge of some kind of a bank. The barren bank is a rather unorthodox background. He leans on on his left arm, gazing at the viewer. He wears a belted blue tunic. An art historian calls it a smock with a whittevskirt. The difference would be that a smock protects outergarments worn underneath while the tunic is the outer garment. And he is not wearing a white skirt, but white pantalettes. Smocks were not genarally worn with pantalettes. He also wears three quarter white socks and modern-looking low-cut black shoes. The tunic has a small white ruffled collar and is tied at the neck with a bow. His straw hat lies near his feet on the left. We know a little about Henry. We know he served in the military amd then became a cleric. He was the Vicar at West Hatch, Somerset. He married Georgina Flora (Willis) Elton Walcot near Bath (1856). Their Children included: May Flora Elton (?), Charles Henry Elton (1857-1929), Edmund Hallam Elton (1860-1925), and Arthur Tierney Elton (1863-??).
This cabinet card portrait shows Paul Elwell fom Kent, Ohio. The studio was McCartney. Paul wears a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit with a cut-away, but not open jacket. He has a large white collar and matching cuffs, but not particularly fancy. He has a large floppy bow that looks to be a pastel color and not white.The suit has knee pants which Paul wears with black long stockings. His hair is done in modest ringlets. The portrait is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1890s.
Here we see a portrit Tom G.Epperson of Fresno, California. He is wearing a double-breasted suit with very large lapels. W are not dure what the round pin on his lapel is about. We are not sure about the collar, but it looks like a soft collar, not a detachable one. He is wearing a solid colored tie. His suit is done with above the knee knickers worn with dark long stockings and high-top shoes. The light-colored suit was probbly asummer suit, but he still wers long stockings. The portrit was taken 1908-09. This was was just when knickers began replacinhg the straight-leg knee pants that American boys had been wering for decades. Tom looks to be about 11 year old. His hair is carefully combed in a somewhat unusual style.
The photo shows four siblings: Rosa, Raffaele, Giuseppina and Luigi Errichiello. Itvis undated, but we believe was taken during the 1940s, probably during the War. They lived in San Pietro a Patierno, a village near Naples. In a hot summer day the children wore little clothing. We know little about the family. Italy was not a rich country when Mussolini led the country into World War II as a German ally. The country was devestated by the War which after the Allied invasion (September 1943) was fought all the way up the Italian peninsula. The fighting around Naples which was the most important port in southern Italy was particularly intense.
We note an interesting family photo of John Espey as a boy of almost 6 years of age and his sister, Mary Frances Espey. who was 8 years old. The snapshot was taken in the garden of a girls' school in the missionary compound of South Gate, a suburb of Shanghai, China, in 1918. John wears a white short-pants summer suit in 1918 with an Eton collar. Notice the long black stockings, worn even in summer time. John was the son of Presbyterian missionary to China. He and
his sister were born and grew up in Shanghai, living in the two contrasted worlds of the pious religious compound of the mission (at South Gate) and the canals and alleys of Shanghai. In a memoir of his boyhood, John Espey, now an emeritus professor of English at UCLA, writes about his schoolboy clothes during the period of the 1920s (about 1920-24) in China. He was dressed like most American boys of the period (his family was originally from Iowa), although perhaps a bit more conservatively than some boys because of the strict religiosity of his parents and also perhaps because he was living
abroad where American childhood fashions would be slower to catch on.
This CDV portrait shows a W.S. Ewart weaing a Higland kilt outfit during August 1865. He looks to be about 10-years old. This is early evidence that the kilt popularized by ueen Victoria for the princes was becoming popular boys wear in England. The boy has a dark jacket with military styling, kilt, and a plaid shoulder throw, he traditional F�ileadh M�r (Great Plaid) worn in the Scottish Highlands. Note the pin. Notice that it matches the kilt. His outfit is completed with a Glengary cap and eagle feather, Eton collar and bow tie, sporan, Argyle and knee socks. We assume W.D. is an English boy, but we are not sure he was from Bighton which had become a popular tourist destination. The studio was Merrick in Brighton.
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