Figure 1.--This portrait was identified as a Jewish boy in what becme Czechoslovakia. We are not sure precisely where it was taken. The image is undated, but we would guess that it was probably taken in the 1890s. Note that the styling appears to be sailor styling (the dress) and Czech folk styling (the hat). This suggests that this boy came from a highly assimilate Jewish family.

We are not sure to what extent boys wore dresses in the 19th century. Our historical information is very limited. By the time that Czecheslovakia ws formed after World War I (1919) the custome of dressing young boys in dresses was becoming much less common. The prractice would have been much more common in Bohemia and Moravia (much of Czechoslovakia) while it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well as earlier in the 19th century. We assume that the pattern was similar to that of Austria and other European countries and was fairly widespread. We have few details concerning the styles of dresses worn. The image here suggests that sailor styles were popular. Folk styling may have been used. There is no indication of folk styling here, but there is on the boy's hat (figure 1).

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Crerated: January 4, 2004
Last updated: January 4, 2004