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Scottish boys clothes: middle-class family about 1890
Scottish Middle-Class Familiy (about 1890)
Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows an unidentified Scottish family from Iverness in the Highlands. We are not entirely sure this is a nuclear family group. The adults may be grandparents, but people in the 19th century were know to marry late, especially the husband. The adults look to be rather old to have suvch a young child. It is undated, but the style of mother's dress and the mount charaxteristics suggest the 1890s, probably the late-1890s. Their son or grandson looks to be about 4 years old. He wears a black cut-away jacket as a highland kilt outfit. He has a small Eton collar. Note the square brass buttons and large sporran. The studio was Watson & Senior in Inverness.
Photography continued to grow in importance, but it is in the 1890s that we have found really large numbers of images. The photographic record shows that headwear continued to be important for both children and adults. Sailor style hats were popular for younger boys and also worn by girls. We note Scottish-styled caps caled bonnets for someeason. We see girls wearing actual frilly bonnets. White dresses were common. We see dresses with built up baloon sleeves. Younger boys might wear sailor suits. We also see Fauntleroy suits and lace collars, but they were not nearly as common as sailor outfits. Here there were social class connotatioins. Boys of all ages also wore kilts, in different styles, Many were vworn with Highland elements. Again there were social class connotations. We see many boys wearing Eton collars. Boy commonly wore suits. We see several different stles of jackets. We note both knee pants and knickers, mostly worn with long stockings. Kilts were, hpwever, commonly worm with knee socks.
This snapshot shows the family of mathematician Professor John Steggall about 1893. John Edward Aloysius Steggal was born in London (1855). His father was Dr. J. W. B. Steggall, a physician whose ancestors came from East Anglia. He was educated under noted headmaster, Dr. Abbott, at the City of London School. He went on to Trinity College, Cambridge, where h earned various academic honors. He taught a few year in at collegess, but spent most of his career at newly founded University College of Dundee in Scotland (1883-1933). He had vrious interests, includung astrionomy, architecture, cycling, mountaineering, photography, and woodworking. His interest in photography explains why we have family snapshots and not just studio portraits. His collection of more than 2,000 photographs is archived at the University of St Andrews. He married Isabella Katherine Fraser from Gareloch, near Helensburgh in Scotland (1878). They had three children two girls and a boy. A family snapshot shows the children on an outing with their family, we think in 1893. The snapshot is undated, but we think was taken about 1893 as the boy looks to be about 6 years old. The girls wear white dresses. he boy wears a sailor suit with a wide-brimmed hat. The younger children were born in Scotland and all three grew up in Dundee, Scotland. So this might be called a Scottish family. We do not know he names of the girls, but the boy was John William Abbott Steggall (1887-1916). John perished duruing the Battle ofv Jutland when his ship, the battlecruiser HMS Invicible was struck by a German shell and exploded.
Here we have a wonderful studio portrait of a young middle-class Scottish family. The portrait was taken in Dundee, so we can assume they were from Dundee or the surronding area. The portrait is no dated, but we would guess it was taken about 1890, either the late 1880s or early 90s. There are three children, two boys and an infant. The youngest boy about 2 years old and wears a fancy kilt outfit. The other boy looks to be about 6 years old and wears a rather adult-looking long pants suit. The suggestion here is that the kilt outfit was seen to be suitable for only the very youngest children. I'm not sure how common this convention was. It probably varied as to where one lived in Scotland as well as chronologically. Dundee is locted north of the Firth of Fourth, I think is seem as on the perifery of the Highlands.
Here we see unidentified Scottish children, almost certsinly brother and sister. All we know about the portrait is that it was taken in Lahead View, Markinch. That seems to be a town near St. Andrews. The children look to be about 6 and 8 years of age. The girl wers a long dress with an elaborate collar. She has something in her lap, perhaps flowers. The boy wears a cut-away jacket with military cuffs, an Eton collar, and kilt. She wears button shoes, he wears strap shoes. strap shoes were not uncommonly worn with kilts for a formsl outfit. As the photogrpher received an award in 1893, we know the portrait was made sometime after 1893, probably about 1895.
This cabinet portrait shows a unidentified Scottish family. The clothing suggests a fashionable, affluent family. The portrait is undated, but the Fauntkleroy lace collar and the styke of the cabinet card format suggest the 1890s to us. And the mothers dress, esopecially the puff sleeves, look like the mid-1890s. The portrait includes a middle-age mother and her three young children. They look to be about 5-8 years in age. The two younger children may be twins. Another possibility is that the lady is grandmother and the children may include cousins. There are two boys and a girl. The younger boy wears a dress (we are not sure about the color) with Fauntleroy lace trim. The girl wears a fancy white dress. Both the younger children wear white long stockings. The older boy wears a Highland kilt out fit, comple with blmoral bonnet, eagle feather, over the shoulder sash, and sporran. The jacket is a cut-away tweed jacket and a vest. He has an Eton collar and jaunty bow, The studio was Davidson in Edinburgh.
Iverness Family (late-1890s)
This CDV portrait shows an unidentified Scottish family from Iverness in the Highlands. We are not entirely sure this is a nuclear family group. The adults may be grandparents, but people in the 19th century were known to marry late, especially the husband. This was basically a function of the man being sav=vle to support a family. The adults look to be rather old to have suvch a young child. It is undated, but the style of mother's dress and the mount charaxteristics suggest the 1890s, probably the late-1890s. Their son or grandson looks to be about 4 years old. He wears a black cut-away jacket as a highland kilt outfit. He has a small Eton collar. Note the square brass buttons and large sporran. The studio was Watson & Senior in Inverness.
