Figure 1.--This cabinet card has been printed without the photographer's information at the bottom. We see an unidentified boy wearing a Highland kilt sitting on a rocking horse. Notice how mother has spread out the kilt so it would show well in the portrait. It was not only taken outside, but against a background of an enormous parasol. This clearly indicated that the boy came from a wealthy family. Thatbis probably his home in the background. Taking the portrait outside probably means the family was wealthy enough for the photogeapher to come to the house. The rocking horse is of the ‘safety stand’ style design which was introduced in 1880 and took over from the bow rocker which was considered to be somewhat dangerous. He seems to be wearing knee pants with the kilt along with long stockings and strap shoes. The portrait is undated. The dealer estimated the 1890s.

This cabinet card has been printed without the photographer's information at the bottom. We see an unidentified boy wearing a Highland kilt sitting on a rocking horse. A reader writes, "I tweaked your picture a bit. You can just make out his sporran, and ankle strap shoes. The trews are a bit more obvious too." Notice how mother has spread out the kilt so it would show well in the portrait. It was not only taken outside, but against a background of an enormous parasol. This clearly indicated that the boy came from a wealthy family. That is probably his home in the background. Taking the portrait outside probably means the family was wealthy enough for the photogeapher to come to the house. The rocking horse is of the ‘safety stand’ style design which was introduced in 1880 and took over from the bow rocker which was considered to be somewhat dangerous. He seems to be wearing knee pants with the kilt along with long stockings and strap shoes. The portrait is undated. The dealer estimated the 1890s. A Scottish reader writes, "I wonder if the photograph in Scottish kilts social class was actually taken in Scotland. I suspect not - the house in the background is of open brick, which suggests south of the border to me." This could well be the case. Scottish buildings are commonly done in stone while brick is very common in England. This was a cabinent card, but there was no information on the photographer. The dealer selling the photograph was in Scotland, so if the portrait was taken in England, it some how made its way north. There is always the possibility that the boy here could be a Scottish boy living in England. We wonder if this may be an American boy. It is very unusal to see a Scottish or English boy wearing long stockings with kilts. They normlly wore knee socks with kilts. On the other habnd, long stockings were much more common in America.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing kilt pages:
[Return to the Main Scottish kilt: Social class conventions usage page]
[Return to the Main kilt usage page]
[Return to the Main Scottish kilt page]
[Scottish boys clothing] [Scottish school uniform]
[Highland dance] [Scottish pipe band]
[Irish kilts] [Irish boys clothing] [Irish step dancing]
[Greek kilts] [Kilt suits]

Created: 8:58 AM 3/14/2010
Last updated: 7:49 AM 9/11/2011