Figure 1.--This boy had a cabinent card portrait taken in September 1889. He is identified as William Charles. We assume Charles is his last (family) name and not a surname. William was from Hillsboro, Ohio. He was 5-years old when the portrait was taken. He wears a patterened blouse with a polka-dot floppy bow, knee pants, and long stockings. The knee pants have a very loud check-like pattern. He is holding a rounded-crown hat with a very wide hat band. Willim's hair is cut short. We notice some American boys with short hair, but it does not seem to have been a very common hair cut.

This boy had a cabinent card portrait taken in September 1889. He is identified as William Charles. We assume Charles is his last (family) name and not a surname. We know nothing about William's family. We suspect it may be a farm family, but we are not sure about that. William was from Hillsboro, Ohio. He was 5-years old when the portrait was taken. He wears a patterened blouse with a polka-dot floppy bow, knee pants, and long stockings. The knee pants have a very loud check-like pattern. We see more boys wearing knee pants in the 1880s. Knee pants were worn earlier, but in the 1890s they became almost universal for American boys. He is holding a rounded-crown hat with a very wide hat band. These rounded-crown hats were very common at the time. Willaim's hair is cut short. We notice some American boys with short hair, but it does not seem to have been a very common hair cut.

The Boy

This boy had a cabinent card portrait taken in September 1889. He is identified as William Charles. We assume Charles is his last (family) name and not a surname. We know nothing about William's family. We suspect it may be a farm family, but we are not sure about that. William lived in or near Hillsboro, Ohio. This is an unusual portrait in thsat it was not a studio portrait. It looks like he was photographed in front of his home, perhaps by an itenerate photographer, although the cabinent card shows a photographer in Hillsbpro. He was 5-years old when the portrait was taken. He seems quite focused on the photographer.

Clothing

William wears what would seem to be very common clothing at the time. He wears a patterened blouse with a polka-dot floppy bow, knee pants, and long stockings. As he does not wearsupenders, the blouse probably buttoned onto buttons on the inside of the knee pants waist band. The knee pants have a very loud check-like pattern. We see more boys wearing knee pants in the 1880s. Knee pants were worn earlier, but mostly by younger boys. During the 1880s, knee pants became very common for boys up to about 10 years old. In the 1890s, knee pants became almost universal for American boys. He is holding a rounded-crown hat with a very wide hat band. Note the bow with the band. These rounded-crown hats were very common at the time.

Hair Style

Willaim's hair is cut short. We notice some American boys with short hair, but it does not seem to have been a very common hair cut. We are not sure if his parents cut his hair short as a style they preferred or if it was a sanitary measure resulting from head lice.

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Created: 8:32 PM 6/12/2008
Last edited: 8:32 PM 6/12/2008