Latvian Families



Figure 1.-- we note what looks like an affluent family on a beach vacation. Latvia is located on the Baltic and has beautiful, sandy beaches. There are three boys. The oldest boy wers a striped sailor blouse. The younger boys wear tunics with Baltic folk detailing. They look rather like the tunics worn by the German princes before World war I. They look to be about 3-10 years old. They all have close cropped hair. The photograph is indated, but looks like the 1920s. They are are at Jūrmala. This is resort town about 25 kilometres west of Riga.

We have put some emphasis on acquiring family images. The HBC family sections are interesting because they put boys' fashions in the context of what girls as well as adult family members were wearing. They help to put boys' fashion trends in context. They also provide a range of useful sociological insights. Our Latvian archive is still limited. We have little information on Latvian families at this time. What we have found shows a German fashion influence. This is understandable until World War II there was a substantial German presence in Latvian cities.

Family Portrait (The 1900s)

This Riga cabinet card shows a young fanily with four children about 1-7 years old, perhaps two boys and two girls. It is undated, but we would guess was taken in the 1900s while Latvia was a Tsarist province. We have no idea who the family is. They could be Latvian, German, or Russian. In Riga and other cities, the population was more mixed than he countryside which was largely Latvian. The mustschioed father wears a bowler hat with high collar. Mother has a wonderful decorated hat. Except for the baby, the children all have wide-brimmed hat. The little girl's hat is a little different than the ones the boys are wearing. We can't tell much about what they are wearing, because mother has added a huge drape over lace collar to what all four children are wearing. One boy looks to be a toy rifle. The studio was Carl Kistenmacher in Riga. Even the Schmiedestr street address is German. Many of the photographic studios in the Baltic republics were Germans.

Family Beach Vacation (Early-1920s)

We note what looks like an affluent family on a beach vacation (figure 1). Latvia is located on the Baltic and has beautiful, sandy beaches. There are three boys. The oldest boy wers a striped sailor blouse. The younger boys wear tunics with Baltic folk detailing. They look rather like the tunics worn by the German princes before World War I. The boys look to be about 3-10 years old. They all have close cropped hair. The photograph is undated, but looks like the 1920s. They are are at Jūrmala. This is resort town about 25 kilometres west of Riga. It is sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River.

Family Portrait (1929)

The HBC family sections are interesting because they put boys' fashions in the context of what girls as well as adult family members were wearing. They also provide useful sociological insights. Our Latvian archive is still limited. We have little information on Latvian families at this time. We do note a family portrait in 1929 with three children and mother. The family is unidentiied. All we know about the family is that they are Latvian and the boys are 6 and 9 years old. Of course when we say Latvian, we mean that the photograph was taken in Latvia. It is possible that the children wee ethnic Germans. The boys are wearing matching sailor suits. The sailor suits gave three-stripe detailing, repeated on the dickey and scarf. They are short pants suits worn with light-colored long stockings. We are not sure about the color of the sailor suits, but would guess blue. We are not sure about the shoes. A reder writes, "The boys' shoes seem to have a sole welded on to the upper. There is some form of ribbon lace tie fastening over the instep. The tops could be canvas and the welded sole welt - rubber." We assume this is a middle-class urban family. Their teenage sister is dressed rather like mother. We would guess this is a summer dress, but the boys are wearing long stockings. We think mother is also wearing long stockings. Sister also may be wearing long stockings, but it is impossible to tell. We are not sure why father is not in the portrait. A reader writes,"I think father is taking the photograph." That is of course possible, but the photograph to us has the look of a studio (albeit basic studio) portrait rather than a family snapshot.







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Related Baltic Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Estonia] [Latvia] [Lithuania] [Prussia]



Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s] [The 1890s] [The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s] [The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s]



Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers] [Blazer] [School sandals] [School smocks] [Sailor suits] [Pinafores] [Long stockings]



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Created: 8:34 AM 4/10/2016
Last updated: 6:25 PM 2/26/2019