Figure 1.--This is a small Ambrotype portrait (1 5/8 in x 1 3/8 in), but notice the extrodinary resolution. It has been slightly colorized. The boy is unidentified. He looks to be about 13-14 years old. We would guess the portrait was taken in the late-1850s, but the very early-60s is possible. Notice the long hair that almost covers the boy's ears. After the 50s we begin to see boys wearing shorter cuts, especially by the mid-60s. Notice the collar-buttoning military-style jacket. The size of the collars suggests the 1850s more than the 60s. .

We note a lot of examples of American boys with hair cuts of varying length during the 1850s. Many boys wore their hair down t, but less commonly cimpltelky over their ears, as did adult men at the time. The expanding photographic record provides detailed information. for the first time. We see many images of boys with longish hair styles. A lot of boys had hair cut to about mid-ear or even longer, usually with the lower part of the ear showing. Another good example is an unidentified boy, we think in the early-1850s. noyher good exmple is an unidentified boy weaing an early lapel suit. We note an unidentified boy, probably in the late-1850s. We notice John Van Horn who has his ears almost completely covered in 1859 like the boy here (figure 1). This was somewhat kess ciommon. We are not entirely sure about lengths in the early-19th century. Except for the long curls worn by younger boys with doting mothers, this was as long as hair got in the 19th century. Unlike the long hair for little boys, the long lenghs down to the ears did not have a social class component. We see both working-class abd moderate boys from moderate income families as well as boys from well-to-do families with these hair cuts. Fir the ret of the century, the lengths of boys' hair declined. nd there was no age component. Adult men wore their hair at the same length. This changes in the 1860s. The cuts varied in he length of the hair at the side and how much of the ear was covered, but the basic style was widely worn.

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Created: 9:21 PM 4/21/2017
Last edited: 9:21 PM 4/21/2017