Figure 1.--This postcard back snapshot shows a boy named Ra????? Newton. Unfortunately his first name is not clearly written. Click on the image to see the back. Perhaps you can make out the name. Nor do we know where he is from in America. He is pictured near a rocky ledge, rather dressed up for a country outing.

This postcard back snapshot shows a boy named Ra????? Newton. Unfortunately his first name is not clearly written. We at first thought iut might be 'Ralph'. It certainly begins "Ra" amd the next letter may be a "l", the rest of the letters are an open question. A reader writes, "It looks vaguely like Ralph, or perhaps a diminuitive Like Raphie or Rickie, but I am sure the first three letters are R A P The squiggle at the end is not very like a P H though. I didn't get any help from 'Baby Names' either. Rachael was an exceptional recorded boy's name in the 1980's but probably due to recording error as there is no distribution curve for years either side. It is not a name like 'Grace' that was not all that an uncommon boy's name in the 1800's. I'll go for Ralph." Nor do we know where he is from in America. He is pictured near a rocky ledge, rather dressed up for a country outing. He looks to be about 7-8 years old. The boy has a military styled pealed cap. We see those caps in the 1900s, but by the 1910s, flat caps were more common. He is wearing a single-breasted suit jacket and matching knickers. Unusually he wears a black belt over the jacket. These belts were common with tunics, but not with suit jackets. Perhaps that came from a tunic suit he wore. He also wears a Fauntleroy blouse with a large square collar without a floppy bow. The has dark, probably black long stockings. The postcard is undated, but we can narrow it down to about 1910. The postcard has a divided back which means that it could have been taken as early as 1907. The Fauntleroy blouse suggests the 1900s while the knickers are more consistent with the 1910s. Thus around 1910 is a good estimate.

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Created: 11:04 PM 11/15/2010
Last edited: 11:04 PM 11/15/2010