Figure 1.--This American boy gives every appearance of coming from an affluent family. Not only the short pants suit, but the conservative tie and leather gloves all suggest a conservative well to do family. The image is undated, but HBC believes that it was probably taken in the early 1950s. Image courtesy of the RS collection.

This American boy gives every appearance of coming from an affluent family. Not only the short pants suit, but the conservative tie and leather gloves all suggest a conservative well to do family. The image is undated, but HBC believes that it was probably taken in the early 1950s. Unfortunately we have no details on the provinance of this image. Thus we can only speculate about it.

Country

We can not be sure that this boy is American, but most such images found in America are American. The tie and color of the suit also suggests to HBC that he is probably American.

A Dutch reader provided this interesting assessment: "I'm not an expert at dating/localizing pictures but if nobody had told me that it's an American boy, my guess would have been a Catholic boy in the southern part of the Netherlands or in Belgium. He looks surprisingly like some of my schoolmates in Antwerp in the 1950s, including the short pants, the leather gloves and the breast pocket handkerchief. The book would not have been a Bible, but rather a guilt-edged missal with the Dutch text of the liturgy on one side and the Latin text on the other. Even the bookmarker ribbons are exactly like what I remember. I think Roman Catholic practice was international at the time. He is too young indeed for First Communion, but there was Solemn Holy Communion a few years later, and Confirmation at about the same age. I don't remember if Communion or Confirmation came first. Anyway, at Confirmation they sang one of the most beautiful songs in RC liturgy, called 'Veni Creator Spiritus'. Confirmation at my Reformed congregation was at a later age and quite a dull and tedious ceremony compared to that of the Catholic boys. I am looking forward to what your Catholic readers may contribute on this picture."

Chronology

The HBC reader who provided this image thought that it was probably taken in the late 1940s or early 1950's based on the style of the jacket and tie. The contrast and condition of the photo makes it difficult to see, but I think the jacket is single breasted. Double breasted jackets were very popualr in the 1930s, but by the 1940s sinle breasted jackets were becoming much more common. HBC tends to agree. Another factor is the boys shorts. They probably would have been longer if the portrait had been taken in the 1930s.

Age

HBC speculates that this boy is probably 12-13 years old.

Affluent Family

HBC believes that the boy came from an affluent family. Every aspect of his grooming and dress is empecable. His hair is perfectly groomed. The tie and suit are very conservative as might have been chosen by conservative, affluent parents. The tie is perfectly tied. Also the leather gloves are another added touch bespeaking of affluence. Gloves like caps were once considered to be a necessary part of proper dress. The boy is posed wearing one glove and holding the other--clearly to empgasize the gloves. The fact that he is probably 12-13 years old and wearing a short pants suit also suggests that he came from a wealthy family.

Prop

The boy may be holding a Bible. Expernsive editions of Bibles did come in bindings that could be zipped up. I had one as a boy in the late 1940s, although mine was not ascnice as the one this boy has. The learther zipper tabs and ribbon coming out of it does clearly suggest a Bible. (Actually the zipper is another factor suggesting that the portrait was taken after World War II.) Certainly his suit would have been suitable for Sunday.

Event

One suggestion was made that it might be a First Communion portrait. This boy looks a little old for Catholic First Communion, which usually takes place at 7 or 8 years of age. This boy looks considerably older. Also he does not have the ribbon on his sleeve that was normally worn or First Communion. Another factor is that Catholic families, which were more likely to be Italian or Irish, were less likely to be the affluent families in which boys commonly wore short pants suits. The boy does not look either Irish or Italian.

Another HBC reader reports that he is 99 percent certain that this is a Episcopalian (Anglican) Confirmation photo. In the Episcopal Church, confirmation usually occurs around age 12-13. Judging from the age of the boy and the holding of the Bible (a typical article in confirmation photos), there would seem to be little doubt. Moreover, as HBC points out, many of the socially elite in the United States, especially "old money", were (and still are) Episcopalian.

Other Items

We do not know if he had a cap. If he was younger he almost certainly would have. Given his age he might not have had one. With formal accessories like handkerchief and gloves, it is very likely that he is also wearing dark knee socks and dress, black leather shoes.

Created: November 5, 2001
Last updated: November 6, 2001