Figure 1.--This Australian photograph was taken on the family's front porch in 1913. Notice how mother has set up the tea service. The boy was a cadet shich means he attended a secondary school. I am not sure if this would be a suburban or rural home. The family looked rather refined.

Family images are particularly informative. They often tell us more than an individual studio portrait, as valuable as those images are. Familiy photographs are especially helpful in setting the larger context of both fashions as well as providing useful sociological information. The family images show us what adults and other children were wearing along with various boys' clothing styles. We can see what girls' fashions were associated with boys; styles as well as what adults were wearing. We can also observe social interactions and better assess the social class and demographic relationship. A collection of these images over time also provides a great deal of chrnological information.

Melbourne Nanny and Boys (1872)

Here we have the children of a well-to-do Melbourne family. This wonderful carte de visite pprtrait shows a nanny with four young boys. You can tell the lady is a nanny because she wears a kind of uniform. She clearly has a very close personsal relationship with the boys. The older boy is wearing a dark suit and has his derby hat on the floor. The three younger boys are dressed in light-colored knee pants outfits. We believe there is some sailor stylig, but it is alittle difficult to tell. The youngest seems to be falling asleeping or probanly squirming about while lying back on the nanny's lap He is holding a straw hat. They were probably photographed during a summer vacation. The photographer is J.Sharp, Collins Street, Melbourne, Australia. The portrait is dated on back -- 1872. The writing looks like 1872 to us, but the dealer seems to think it was 1892.

Unidentitified Front Porch Tea (1913)

This Australian photograph was taken on the family's front porch in 1913, just before World War I (figure 1). Notice how mother has set up the tea service. The boy was a cadet shich means he attended a secondary school. He clearly is very proud of being a cadey ss he has chosen his uniform for the portrait. Thius clearly is not a candid portrait. We are not sure if this would be a suburban or rural home. The family looked rather refined.

James Family (1928)

This photograph shows Gwilym Evans and Eleanor James with their family in Albany, Western Australia. Gwilym was born in 1884 in Aberdare, Glamorgan, Wales. He married Eleanor James in 1906. They had six children, including five sons (1911, 1913, 1916, 1918, 1923) and a daughter (1925). They emigrated to Australia (1927). The photo was probanly taken about an year after they arrived in Australia, probably about 1928. We are not sure what occupation the father pursued in Australia or nything more about the children.

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Crerated: November 5, 2002
Last updated: 2:08 AM 8/11/2009