Figure 1.--This looks to be a very early American cabinent card. (There is no front or back logo and the backdrop looks like a 1870s one. It is not dated, but looks like the early 1870s to us. It might have been taken in the late 60s, but the early 70s is proably more likely. Mother has outfitted both boys in identical white dresses. They look to be about 3-6 years old. A HBC reader tells us that mother's dress is a 1880s style, so it might even be an 1880s scene.

Some mothers dressed their children in identical or coordinated outfits. Not all parents did this. It varied substantially from family to family. It was, however, a popular convention. White seems to have been a popular choice.This meant that the younger children might all wear identical dresses. Other parents dressed the boys and girls differently. We notice two Muncie boys, probably in the 1870s, wearing identical white dresses. We note an unidentified family with both boys wearing identical dresses. Unfortunately the exposure does not reveal any details about the dresses except that the neckline is around the cillar and the skirt length is rather long.

Created: 3:52 AM 7/13/2008
Last updated: 3:53 AM 7/13/2008