Figure 1.--This German cabinet card is undated. It is notable for the use of brown and blue. It looks to us like it was taken in the 1890s. The older boy wears a blue collar-buttoning knickers suit with Norfolk styling. We know that blue was a common color for boys' clothes, although we are not sure about the shadeshown here. Notice how the white detailing on the boy's blouse has been painted on. We were a little surprised about the girl's brown dress. It seems rather dowdy, but brown was not a color exclusively for boys. Notice her wonderful white hat. The younger boys wears a black velvet sailor style outfit. Notice the belt. Mother appears to have matched the color of the stripes with the outfits of the two yonger children. We are not sure how colorizing those stripes is even posible. We suspect tht the stripes were drawn on for some reason. The older boy's brown stockings seem unusual if mom had matched the colors for the other two children. It is unclear why she would have not matched the colors for the older boy, but brown was a common color for stockings. The studio was Richard Jähnig in Dresden-N. |
