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sausage or ringlet curls country differences -- United States chronology 1850s
Figure 1.--This is a 2 3/4" X 3 1/4"(6th plate) purple glass ambrotype portrait. We would gues that it was taken in the late-1850s. The unidentified boy wears a plaid tunic with a black belt. Notove what looks like a Peter Pan style detachable collar. (The term Peter Pan did not yet exist.) The boy also has pantalettes and white long stokings. His hair is done in ringlet curls. Notice that there arenot only curls at the side, but curls across the crown of his head. Put your cursor on the image to see abetter view of the boy's ringlets.
U.S. Boys' Ringlet Curl Chronology (1850s)
We note boys weraring ringlet curls as early as the 1850s, but this probably ocurred earlier. Many of the dags we have found are difficult to date. Some were taken in the 1840s. Ringlets seem more common with Ambros which mean the mid-50s to the early-60s. We have found a number of boys wearing ringlets. We think that social class was a factor here. America was still a largely rural country in the 1850s. And the wealth that enabled women to endulge their fashion interests had omly begin to be created. We have, however, found a few portraits of boys wearing ringlets. This should not be seen as suggesting that ringlets were not as common on the 1850s as later in the century. It should be remembered that the number of 1850s photographs (Dags, Ambros, and tintypes) were a small fraction of the torrent of albumen prints (CDVs and cabinent cards) that appeared in the 1860s. While the number of portarits of boys with ringlets may be relatively small, the proportion does not seem to be radically different than the 1860s. We have not yet found a boy who looked older than 5-6 years wearing ringlets in the 1850s. Of course this is almost enirely visual estimates. It is very rare to find the various photographic types prevalent in the 1850s with actual ages noted. Unlike the CDVs and cabinet cards prevalenr in the 1860s, the Dags, Anmbro, and tin-types taken in the 1850s did not have paper fronts and backs on which inscriotions could be written. This we have to rely on age estimates during the 1850s. Boys tended to wear their hair rather like men, down to their ears, in some cases even covering their ears. Doing the hair in ringlet curls was much less common. We think that social class was a factor here. We note ringlets done at various lengths, both short and long ringlets. A good example is a New York boy. We note, for example, a Louisville boy wearing ringlets in the 1850s. We have an undated image of an unidentified boy with his grandmother. We believe the portrait was probably taken in the 1850s, but it could have been taken in the late-1840s. We also note Elisha Dickerman who had his portrait taken about 1850. We note an unidentified American boy with short ringlets in the 1850s. Note that his sisters do not wear their hair in ringlets. We have many images in which we care not sure about the gender of the child with ringlets. A good example is a younger child with ringlets in the late-19th century. We see boys with ringlet curls wearing a range of different garments, basically all the differnt garments worn by younger boys. We note both skirted garment and pants or pantalettes being worn with ringlets. We have only a few images so we do not yet have a full inventory of the various garments boys wore with ringlet curls. The skirted garments include both dresses and tunics. We note one boy weaing a plaid dress with a round white ruff collar and plain white pantalettes. The dress has a fairly wide collar. Pantalttes were still very common in the 1850s. And unlike subsequent decades they are not worn with just a little showing at the dress or tunic hem. Many of the boys wear pantalettes with skirted garments. We also notice boys wearing blouses that look like dress bodices including colarless blouses and pants. We see the cut-away jackets that were popular in the 1860s. Of course as it is difficult to differentiate between portarits taken in the late-1850s nand early-60s, the time line is blurred.
Chronology
We note boys weraring ringlet curls as early as the 1850s, but this probably ocurred earlier. Many of the dags we have found are difficult to date. Some were taken in the 1840s. Ringlets seem more common with Ambros which mean the mid-50s to the early-60s. We have found a number of boys wearing ringlets, although it does not seem to have been all that common. Boys tended to wear their hair rather like men, down to their ears, in some cases even covering their ears. Doing the hair in ringlet curls was much less common. We note, for example, a Louisville boy wearing ringlets in the 1850s We have an undated image of an unidentified boy with his grandmother. We believe the portrait was probanly taken in the 1850s, but it could have been taken in the late-1840s. We also note Elisha Dickerman who had his portrait taken about 1850. We note an unidentified boy withn perfectly formed ringlets in the late-1850s.
Social Class
We think that social class was a factor here. America was still a largely rural country in the 1850s. And the wealth that enabled women to endulge their fashion interests had omly begin to be created. We have, however, found a few portraits of boys wearing ringlets. This should not be seen as suggesting that ringlets were not as common on the 1850s as later in the century. It should be remembered that the number of 1850s photographs (Dags, Ambros, and tintypes) were a small fraction of the torrent of albumen prints (CDVs and cabinent cards) that appeared in the 1860s. While the number of portarits of boys with ringlets may be relativel bsmall, the proportion does not seem to be radically different than the 1860s.
Age
We have not yet found a boy who looked older than 5-6 years wearing ringlets in the 1850s. Of course this is almost enirely visual estimates. It is very rare to find the various photographic types prevalent in the 1850s with actual ages noted. Unlike the CDVs and cabinet cards prevalent in the 1860s, the Dags, Anmbro, and tin-types taken in the 1850s did not have paper fronts and backs on which inscriptions could be written. This we have to rely on age estimates during the 1850s.
Characteristics
We note ringlets done at various lengths, both short anf long ringlets. A good example is a New York boy. We note an unidentified American boy with short ringlets in the 1850s. Note that his sisters do not wear their hair in ringlets.
We see boys with ringlet curls wearing a range of different garments, basically all the differnt garments worn by younger boys. We note both skirted garment and pants or pantalettes being worn with ringlets. We have only a few images so we do not yet have a full inventory of the various garments boys wore with ringlet curls. The skirted garments include both dresses and tunics. We note one boy weaing a plaid dress with a round white ruff collar and plain white pantalettes. The dress has a fairly wide collar. Pantalttes were still very common in the 1850s. And unlike subsequent decades they are not worn with just a little showing at the dress or tunic hem. Many of the boys wear pantalettes with skirted garments. We also notice boys wearing blouses that look like dress bodices including colarless blouses and pants. Tunics seem especially prevalent in the 1850s. Many look rather like long shirts worn with a belt at the waist. We see the cut-away jackets that were popular in the 1860s. Of course as it is difficult to differentiate between portarits taken in the late-1850s nand early-60s, the time line is blurred. So we are no entirely sure just when these cut-away jackets first
appeared.
Identification
We have many images in which we care not sure about the gender of the child with ringlets. A good example is a younger child with ringlets in the late-19th century.
