Figure 1.--Here we see the Strange family in Sebastian County, Arkansas during 1898. We believe this is a farm family photographed by an itenerate photographer. It looks like the chairs have been brought out from the house and set in the sun for a good image.

Images of early 19th century American families are mostly affluent families swhich could afford to have a portrait painted. With the development of photography in the 1830s, we begin to see many more imsges of American families by the mid-19th century. Photogography enabled even humble families to have their portraits taken. Most 19th century imsages, however are very formal views of the American family. Snap shots begin to appear in the 1890s, but amateur photography was still relatively complicated and expensive and early informal snapshots are generally of affluent families.

The 1830s

The 1840s

Photographic studios began to open in the 1840, The first commercially viable photographic process was the Daguerreotype. We have a few family images which we believe to be from the 1840s. This is difficult to determine because most Daguerreotypes are not dated. The number of 1840s Daguerreotypes was still limited and the cost still relatively high. Thus images from the 1840s are relatively rare. Many are individual portraits of wealthy or important individuals. There are realtively few family portraits. Even so there are more Daguerreotypes than painted portraits which were even more expensive. Thus while 1840s Daguerreotypes are relatively rare, we have more images from the 1840s than the earlier decades of the 19th century. One image is a mother and son Saran L. and William Chifa. Unfortunately we have no information about the family. We note another unidentified family with eight children.

The 1850s

The 1850s was the first decade in which large numbers of photographs are available. Many more portraits appear in the 1850s. More photographic studios openened as the more individuals developed the needed skills and photography becanme increasingly excepted. More people began to want both individual and family portraits. Prices declined, but were still relatively expensive, limiting the number of portraits made. New less-expensive formats including Ambrotypes and tin-types added to the growrg of the industrty. Boys tend to have short hair, but it is often down to their ears and sometimes covering their ears. Younger boys might have ringlets. We see tunics and tunic-like shirts. Jackets often buttoned to the neck. Collars were generally small. Most boys wore long pants. Dresses mostly had high neck lines, commoming buttoning at the collar. Also all the images are formal studio portraits so we tend to only see families dressed up in their best

The 1860s

We know much more about the 1860s because photography became much more widespread. New photographic procecesses reduced the price of a potographic portrait to the point that a wide cross-section of the population could afford one. And the new negative process used for CDVs and cabinent cards meant that multiple copies could be made for friends and family. Many of the portraits we have found are no identified, but they provide wonderful views of families in the 1860s.

The 1870s

The United States before the Civil War (1861-65) was still a largely agricultural country. America's exports were diminated by cotton. After the War America emerged as an industrial dynamo. That change began to be felt in the 1870s as American industry began to create wealth that would have been unimaginable before the War. This affected the life styles and the clothing of the expanding American middleclass. Younger boys still wore dresses. We note kilt suits were also very common. We also begin to see sailor suits. The knee pants suits we note in the 1860s become incrwasingly popular in the 1870s, although long pants are still common.

The 1880s

We have archived several images of American families in the 1880s. They include both rural and urban families of various levels of affluence, although poor families were unlikely to have portraits made. Families dressed very formally in the 1880s. America at the time was becoming a new world industrial power. The wealth and affluence is clearly reflected in how families dressed. There was a conspicious display of fashion. Younger boys still commonly wore dresses. Kilt suits were also popular for boys. This was the decade in which the Fautleroy suit appeared, often worn with lace collars and large floppy bows. We begin seeing sailor syits. Kneepants were becoming more common, but many boys outside the major urban areas wore long pants. Girls always wore dresses. Plain white dresses were popular for the summer. We note dresses made with jacket-like tops. High-top shoes were common for both boys and girls. Long stockings were commonly wirn, including stripped stockings. Children in rural areas went barefoot, especially the boys. Hair styles varied. Younger boys might have elaborate ringlet curls.

The 1890s

We see a range of 1890s outfits in family portraits archived on HBC. Many mothers used age grading on outfits. Younger boys wore dresses. Some were done in boy styles. Plaid was popular for boys' dresses. After breeching boys might wear Fauntlroy suits, sometimes with ringlet curls. Boys very commonly wore sailor suits. There were a range of different suit styles. Boys often wore suit jackets that buttobed at the collar rather than more adult sack suits with lapels. Boys might just wear blouses during the summer. It was common to add lace or ruffled collars. The ruffled collars gradually replaced the lace collars as the decade progressed. Some mothers added large floppy bows. Kneepants became almost universal for boys and by the end of the decade quite old boys were wearing them. Boys commonly wire long stockings, alothough rural boys would go barefoot during the summer.A popular convention was to dress all the children alire or to coordinate their outfits. There were importnt regionzal and class differences.

Created: March 12, 1998
Last updated: 7:27 AM 4/25/2008