Figure 1.-- This cabinet card portrait shows two English boys in matching sailor suits. Studios at the time had a ship crow's nest set for boys wearing sailor suits. It was a popular studio set for boys. On the back there ia a note that the portrait was taken about 1888-89. One boy is John Leslie Gardner (b. 1881? - died Penang 1911). Have a look at the card back if you want to assess the writing. The other boy is Edwin Courtney Gardner (b. 1882). That would make the boys about 6-7 years old. The studio was H. Hemmins in Swindon, a a large railway town in Wiltshire west of London.

This cabinet card portrait shows two English boys in matching sailor suits. Studios at the time had a ship crows nest set for boys wearing sailor suits. It was a popular studio set for boys. On the back there ia a note that the portrait was taken about 1888-89. One boy is John Leslie Gardner (b. 1881? - died Penang 1911). The writing on the back looks like 1881, but we are not entirely sure. Penang was an island along the coast of Malaya. The other is Edwin Courtney Gardner (b. 1882). The boys were close in age, about about 6-7 yeras old. We are not sure because John's dates are a little unclear. The boys wear identical sailor suits. The blouses have double collars and a double column of buttons to suggest a double-breasted blouse. Double-breasted styling was associated with ailor outfits because of reefer jackets. There are two difference with ow the boys were dressed, although not with the sailor suit. The younger boy has long hair, although not done in ringlets as was common in America. He also seems to be wearing a beret-style cap rather than the unform styled hat that his older brother is wearing. Both wear long pants suits. Sailor suits at the time were virtually the only outfit with which boys this age wore long pants. The studio was H. Hemmins in Swindon, a large railway town in Wiltshire west of London.

Created: 4:39 PM 5/6/2019
Last updated: 9:44 PM 5/6/2019