Figure 1.--This tin-type portrait was probably taken in the 1870s. They look to be about 3-5 years old. Notice that both boys have side parts. The younger child has a fancy top knot or top curl. This andthe side vpoartr means that he is a boy. |
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While the lengths of the cuts vsried, one aspect did not change--the part. Boys tended to have side parts and and girls center parts. This was not an absolute matter, but it was very common convention. It is thus becomes an especially valuable in assessing the gender of younger children. Pre-school boys look much like girls. Only by school age do the more pronounced gender appearance differebces become pronounced. This it is birtyally impossible to identify boys wearing dressesm especially as some lomg or vlongish hair. It should be stressed that not all girls had long hair. Thanks to CDVs and cainet cards we have a huge photographic record. Unfortunately, mom and and dad often neglected to write the names of the children on the back. Unlike Dags and Ambros, there are quite a numner of portraits with the children iudentified. Unforrtunately most do not. But the parts offere one of the few ways of determining gender with a fair degree of acuaracy.
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