Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows a boy wearing a fahionable knee pants sailor suit. It has the classic "V" colar, but with a ruffled collar and a ribbon bow. Written in pencil on back "Rainie, From Her Friend Jay". This means that the boy was probably Jay, but we do not have a fanmily name. The studio was Chas. W. Stiff, Saint Paul, Minnesota. The portrait is undated, but was probably taken about 1870. It could be either the late-60s or early-70s. CDVs were the major format during the 60s, but cabinet cards rapidly replaced them in America during the 70s. The pose looks more like a 70s than a 60s pose. The background would suggest a 60s or early-70s portrait. The sailor suit looks rather like the 70s, but the white stockings suggest the 1860s. We do not yet see dickies with nautical motifs. Image courtesy of the BP collection.

Many of our photographic images are not dated. We can generally identify 1860s, 70s, and 80s portraits. Clothing styles, poses, format, and other factors that are useful in identifying images. but of course not precisely. Ot is difficult to diffeentiate late-60s and early 70s images and also late-70s and early-80s images. While undated images can often nit be dated precisely, they still provide valuable data on period fashion trends. Readers should bear this in mind when looking at this section. Of course reader insights on the images are always welcome. Here we will discuss the various fashion and otherf factors which can be used to date images.

Ruffled Collar Sailor Suit

This CDV portrait shows a boy wearing a fahionable knee pants sailor suit (figure 1). The blouse ot jacket has the classic "V" colar, but is worn with a ruffled collar and a ribbon bow. Notice the two white strip detailing continued on the sleeve cuffs and the leg hem. Written in pencil on back "Rainie, From Her Friend Jay". This means that the boy was probably Jay, but we do not have a family name. The studio was Chas. W. Stiff, Saint Paul, Minnesota. The portrait is undated, but was probably taken about 1870. We believe it could have been taken in either the late-60s or early-70s. We have been discussing this with a HBC reader who suggests itvwas taken a few years later in the the second half of the 1870s, in part because of the sailor suit styling. CDVs were the major format during the 60s, but cabinet cards rapidly replaced them in America during the 70s. The pose looks more like a 70s than a 60s pose. The background would suggest a 60s or early-70s portrait. The sailor suit looks rather like the 70s, but the white stockings suggest the 1860s. We do not yet see dickies with nautical motifs. Rather than a dickey, the boy looks to be wearing some kind of blouse or shirt with a ruffled collar. This could be worn with other tops and was not especially associated with his sailor suit. It could possibly a dickey though, we are not entirely sure. Note the button at the point of the sailor collar "V". We are not sure if this is just a decoration or had a real purpose.

Other Related Pages:
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Created: 2:19 AM 8/13/2010
Last updated: 6:26 PM 8/30/2010