Figure 1.--The seller dates this unidentified family portrait to 1932. There is nothing on the picture itself to confirm that date, butit was presumablyn other material associated with the portrait. We think it'is a reasonable date. The boy's hightop shoes make us think that it is probably early 1930s rather than later when boys often wore low-cut Oxfords.

The seller dates this unidentified family portrait to 1932. There is nothing on the picture itself to confirm that date, butit was presumablyn other material associated with the portrait. We think it'is a reasonable date. The boy's hightop shoes make us think that it is probably early 1930s rather than later when boys often wore low-cut Oxfords. Does the size of the suit lapels give any clue to the date? They are bit wider than I would have expected for the early 1930s, but lapel width is not a topic we have considered in detail yet. We obviously have a family photo here with quite a number of children, four boys and two girls. Since this photo probably dates from the Great Depression, I suspect that such a large family might have been Catholic. The origin of the photo seems to be Connecticut or at least New England, but we can't be certain of that. The children are all very formally dressed for the photo, the boys in white shirts with ties and dark suits. The youngest boy, about six, I would guess, is wearing a short trousers suit with a bow tie. He wears tan long stockings clearly held in place by supporters and hightop shoes. The photo could have been taken in a studio. The drapery in the rear looks a little artificial to me. The older boys wear double-breasted suits. The oldest boy, about 18, is wearing long trousers. The two other boys who are standing seem to be about 14 and 11 or 12. We can't see their legs, but they might well be wearing knickers, which would have been common for boys of that age in the early 1930s.

Created: 12:32 AM 2/14/2009
Last updated: 12:32 AM 2/14/2009