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We first see any substantial numbers of America boys wearing kilt suits in the 1860s. This was in part because of a huge increase in the number of photographic portraits. The decade was a turning point in American photography. Daguerreotype was the first process and made in relatively small numbers. The Ambrotype had emerged as the primary photographic portrait in the 1850s, replacing the Daguerreotype. The tintype appeared about the same time as the Ambro. The first tintypes were dione as caged images, but unlike Dags and Ambrios continued to be done without cases after thec appearabce of the carte d visitv (CDV). The Ambro maintained the title as the main photograophic type for only a few years because the CDV, an albumen process, appeared in the early-1860s and quickly became the standard American studio portrait format as the the Civil War was being fought (1861-65). As it involved a negative, copies could be made leading to a huge increase in the number of photographs. Another factor was cost. Paper prints were much less expensive Dags and even glass. Thus part of the reason we see more kilt suit images in the 1860s is that there were so many more images. Photography shifted from a rather small number of images albeit far more than painted portraits to a virtually unlimited number of images.
The cassed images were at first Dasgs (1840s). They were expensive and made in relatively small numbers. Of course it meant more portaits and less expensive portraits than paintings, but in photograohic ternms there were not very many done. The Ambrotypes appeared (mid-1950s and very quickly began to replace the Dags (mid-1850s). Glass was cheaper than the polished copper plate used for a Dag. The tin-type also appeared at this type and at first was treated like the Dags and Ambros. We have found several images of boys wearing kilt suits. These early images are easy to identify because they differ than the standard kilt suits that we see by the 1870s. A good example is an unidentified boy, we think was photogrphed in the very early-1860s along with separate portraits of what seem to be well-to-do parents. He was photographed with a drum set emulating a Civil War drummer boy. Another image shows him without the drum, clearly showing his kilt suit. Notice the pants, perhaps knickers he is wearing with the kilt suit.
The tintype appeared about the same time as the Ambro. The first tintypes were done as caged images, but unlike Dags and Ambrios continued to be done wiyhout cases after thec appearabce of the CDV. We continue to see tintypes into the 20th century. The tintyope over timev tened to bev used They were done with paper sleeves. This encompases the entuire history of the kilt suit as a popular fashion for American boys. Over time tintypes feclined atb najor vstudios, butb became increasingky adioted bybess important studios and tempotary attractions like carnivals and state fairs where the clientel may not have been as well dressed as the people showing up at established studios. .
We have much more information on childrens clothing from the 1860s -- essentially a quantum leap. The decade was a turning point in American photography. We have many more images than ever before and much higher quality imahes. This was due to the development of albumen paper and the CDVs well as the larger cabinet card later in the decade (1866). This reduced the cost of portraits as well as made copies possible. Huge numbers of photographic portraits were made in the 1860s, more than ever before. aslbumen prints became the standard photographic format during the late-19th century (1860s-90s). This of course is the niost of the era in which the kilt-suit was a popular style for younger boys and inckudes the decades in which the kilt suit was most popular. Quite a few American boys wore kilt suits with pants, altthough this is ofen difficult to determine. We also notice them weating pantlettes. This varied overv time. We have not yet been able to determine a general conventions.
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