Figure 1.--Here we have an unidentified rich Vienna family. We have no idea who they are, but the way they are dressed tells us that they were from a wealthy family. Compare them to a more modest Austrian family at about the sane time. We think they might be royalty, but do not recognize them. Perhaps they are aristocrats or rich commoners. Perhaps Austrian readers will have some idea. One reader raises the possibility that the younger child is a boy.

Here we have an unidentified rich Vienna family. We have no idea who they are, but the way they are dressed tells us that they were from a wealthy family. Compare them to a more modest Austrian family at about the sane time. We think they might be royalty, but do not recognize them. Perhaps they are aristocrats or rich commoners. Perhaps Austrian readers will have some idea. There are four children. They children look to be about 6-13 years old. The girls wear fancy decorative dresses with low neck lines and high sleeves. The gender of younger 19th centyry children is often difficult to determine since so many younger boys werre outfitted in dresses or had long hair. Our standard procedure is to assume that younger chikldren wearing dresses are girls unless identuified as biys or there are cluses suggesting the child is a boy. So we assumed that the younger child here is a girl. A HBC reader suggests that there are some indication that the child may not be a girl or at least that there is at least some question concerning the chil'd gender. The child looks to be aboutv 5 years old, so there is some possibility that it is a boy who had not yet been breeched. Our reader writes, "I am not sure if the youngest child is a boy or girl, but note that while the boys are dressed identically that the girls while are also close in age are dressed differently. And the pose has the child clustered with the boys rather than with the other girl. To me the child looks more like a boy, but I understand that this is not a reliable factor with young children. I also wonder about that hat, it does not look much like a girl's hat. And finally her hair is off her shoulders, like the boys rather than shoulder length like the older girl. I am not saying the child is a boy, only that there is some reason for questioning her gender." Notice the socks. In America girls almost always wore long stockings in the late-19th century. Also notice the younger girl's hat, not exactly what one might think a girl would wear. The boys wear collar buttoning jackets with a little piping. They have small white collars with extended tails. The decoration is continued on the matching knicker pants. At the time, shorter cut pants were just beginning to become really important. They have white long stockings with low-cut slipper shoes. At the time, high-top shoes were common. Notive the wide belts which are entirely decorative. Their long hair is interesting. We suspect the children are being tutored at home. Many Austrian school boys at thev time had close-cropped hair. And most boys this age did not have long hair like this. Wealthy cvhildren were exceptions. The photographer was Victor Angerer (1839-94). He had a very prestigious Vienna studio operated wityh his brothefr fither Ludwig. The Vienna studio is why we believe this was a Vienna family. Interestingly, Angerer records his nationlity as Cisleithania, not Austrian. Cisleithania was the Austrian portion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Belgin pages:
[Return to the Main Austrian family page]
[Return to the Main Austrian page]
[Austrian choirs] [Austrian movies] [Austrian royals] [Austrian schools] [Austrian military schools] [Austrian youth groups]

Created: 12:23 AM 8/4/2023
Last updated: 11:48 AM 8/9/2023