John Trueman Brooke (Brook?) Waller (England, 1892)


Figure 1.--This English boy is John Trueman Brooke Waller. He was 6 years old when this portrait was taken during September 1892 in East Croydon, a London suburb. Note the bloomer knickers, American boys usually wore kneepants and long stockings. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

This rather imperious looking English boy is John Trueman Brooke Waller. Unfortunately we have no biographical information about John or his family. We have a portrait of him taken when he was 6 years old during September 1892. The portrait was taken at East Croydon, a suburb of London. The photo is a wonderful example of an English boy elegantly attired in a velvet Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit with elaborate lace collars and matching cuffs. There is also a colored sash. The outfit suggest that this boy came from a well-to-do-family. He also has long golden curls. Notice the above-the-knee bloomer knickers and kneesocks worn with rather modern-looking Oxford-style shoes.

Family

John's outfit suggests that this boy came from a well-to-do-family. John was the son of Trueman and Mary Waller. They lived at 23 Inglis Road, Croydon. Truman Waller's occupation is given as Bank Clerk, which would not seem to be a highly paid occupation. I think though that the title bank clerk in the late-19th century involved more than that occupation at modern banks. They had two children, John (1886- ) and Rachel. Mrs. Waller's widowed father, Theo Brooke (76) lived with the family. The family was well enough off to have servants: Sebylla Pardon (28) mother's help and Emma Dabson (18) servant

John

This rather imperious looking English boy is John Trueman Brooke Waller. (One of his middle names may have been spelled Brook.) He was born in East Croydon, England (September 1886). In the 1901 Census Mr and Mrs Waller are living at 38 Wandsworth Common, North Side. This would have been a move 'upmarket'. We can trace no record of young John, who would have been 15 in te 1901 Census. It could be that he was away at school or boarding as an apprentice somewhere. I suspect given the social standing of the family that he was away at school. I believe, however, that the Census normally listed school children at their home address even when away at boarding school. Our search in the 1901 Census has failed to trace him in the UK. It is possible that something tragic happened to him. His demise is, however, not in the list of deaths for the period. Perhaps a more skilled reasearcher can locate him. We always hope in loading one of these images is that family may one day contact us with more information about the boy. One sad possibility is that given his age, he may have been swept up in the disaster of World War I. A British reader writes, "There is no record of this boys name on the data base of the Commonwealth War Graves web site, so maybe he survived the War. This is a very comprehensive data base. I lost three uncles in that war and the dates of death and the cemetery that they lie in, and the inscription on the gravestone are all available."

Rachael

John's sister Rachel in the 1901 Census is living next door at 40-42 Wandsworth Common. Here she is listed as Governess to the Rev. Charles Lowe who has 3 boys and a schoolmaster living in, what would seem to be a quite large house.

Portrait

We have a portrait of John taken when he was 6 years old during September 1892. The portrait was taken at East Croydon, a suburb of London. It would hve been close to the Waller home.

Clothing

The portrait here is a wonderful example of an English boy elegantly attired in a velvet Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit with elaborate lace collars and matching cuffs. There is also a colored sash. Notice the above-the-knee bloomer knickers and kneesocks worn with rather modern-looking Oxford-style shoes.

Headwear

John's headwear is not pictured. It could be a wide-brimmed sailot hat with a streamer. There were, however, many other styles of headwear he may have worn.

Jacket

John does not wear a standard short Fauntleoy jacket. In fact we se no front buttons at all. It was apparently a back-buttoning jacket of some kind. The material looks to be velvet. It was probably black, but other dark colors are possible

Lace trim

John looks to be wearing expensive lace trim, both a collar and wrist trim on the sleeves. The rectangular collar is quite large and the cuff trim extends up to the elbows. He is not wearing a blouse, rather the lace trim appears to be pinned on the jacket insted.

Bow

Notice that the boy here does not wear a bow with his Funtleroy suit. Bows were not always worn in America, but they were very common.

Sash

John wears a sash with his Fauntleroy suit. The suit in the actual book by Mrs. Burnett did involve a sash. Note the very large sash bow. Sashes seem to have been less common in America. This was clearly a colored sash. HBC is not sure about the color, but red is likely.

Pants

The pants matched the jacket and are above-the-knee bloomer knickers. American boys were more likely to wear kneepants, but we notice that English boys commonly wore bloomer knickers with their Fauntleroy suits. The bloomer knickers are elastised rather than having button or buckel closures.

Hosiery

John wears kneesocks with his Fauntleroy suit. We think three-quarter stockings or long stockings were more common. But we are just beginning to collect information on English Fauntleroy suits. The sock seem to be held up by those English garters with the top folded over. This is the manner in which turnover-top kneesocks were worn.

Footwear

John wears very modern looking Oxford-style shoes. We find this interesting. We do not know how commonly these shoes were worn with Fauntleroy suits. Most Americn boys wore high-button shoes or strap shoes. We are less sure what shoe styles were common in England.

Hair

John also has long golden curls. They were not done in ringlets, but this one of the most elaborately done hair style that HBC has noted. A HBC reader comments, "Top hair curls similar to French top curls choupette style that HBC has discussed."

Sources British Census, 1901.






HBC




Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main ordinary biographies]
[Return to the Main English page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Essays]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossary] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]



Created: January 5, 2001
Last updated: 6:21 PM 12/26/2007