Figure 1.--Here we have a snapshot of Clarince/Clarence H. Williams. We do not know where Clarince was from, except that he was American. The snapshot was printed as a postcard. It was taken in 1910. Click on the image for an enlargement.

Clarence (Clarince) H. Williams (United States, 1910)

Here we have a snapshot of Clarence/Clarince H. Williams. We do not know where Clarence was from, except that he was American. The spelling is rather unusual. A more normal spelling was Clarence with an "e" instead of an "i". The snapshot was printed as a postcard as was common in the early 20th century. I'm not sure how old Clarence was, but I would guess about 4-5 years old. On the back of the card is written "THIS IS CLARINCE H. WILLIAMS TAKEN AUG. 1910 WITH THE DRESS ON THAT AUNT EMILY MADE FOR HIM". The dress was a colored dress, but we donot kow what color. It is difficult to tell, but looks to have been a polka-dot pattern dress. Clarence has a large bow/ribbon in his long curly hair. Outfitting boys in dresses was becoming less common in the 1910s, but it was still an accepted practice as the snapshot here shows. More information is available on 1910s dress page. The image here is a good example of how difficult it is to use unidentified old photographs. Had there not been an inscription on the back, we would hasve assumed the child was a girl. The only hint was how plain the dress was.

The Boy

Here we have a snapshot of Clarence H. Williams. We do not know where Clarince was from, except that he was American. The spelling is rather unusual. A more normal spelling was Clarence with an "e" instead of an "i". A reader writes, "Surely "Clarince" should be "Clarence". The writer in the script makes the medial "e" look like "i", so the mistake is understandable. Look at all the other examples of "e" in the photographed writing (figure 1)."

Snapshot

The Kodak Browie revolutionized photography. After it appeared in 1900, we see countless family images like this. The snapshot here was printed as a postcard as was common in the early 20th century.

Age

I'm not sure how old Clarince was, but I would guess about 4-5 years old.


Figure 2.--Here we have a snapshot of Clarince H. Williams. We do not know where Clarince was from, except that he was American. The snapshot was printed as a postcard. It was taken in 1910. Click on the image for an enlargement.

Family Traditions

On the back of the card is written "THIS IS CLARINCE H. WILLIAMS TAKEN AUG. 1910 WITH THE DRESS ON THAT AUNT EMILY MADE FOR HIM". The fact that Aunt Emily made the dress for Clarence is interesting. Today clothing styles are rather much set by mass media and peers. In the 19th century family standards and traditions were very important. And this continued into the early 20th century. Clarence's hair would have been styled by his mother. We suspect that in the family ckurls and dresses for the younger boys was very common. After World war I the increasing power of the media began to be felt. This is one reason why dresses and curls for boys rapidly disappeared.

Dress

The dress was a rather simple dress without any fancy styling. It is a colored dress, but we donot kow what color. It is difficult to tell, but looks to have been a polka-dot pattern dress.

Hair Styling

Clarince has a large bow/ribbon in his long curly hair. Outfitting boys in dresses was becoming less common in the 1910s, but it was still an accepted practice as the snapshot here shows.

Dresses in the 1910s

More information is available on 1910s dress page. The image here is a good example of how difficult it is to use unidentified old photographs. Had there not been an inscription on the back, we would hasve assumed the child was a girl. The only hint was how plain the dress was.






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Created: 9:57 PM 5/16/2005
Last edited: 9:57 PM 5/16/2005