Figure 1.--The CDV portrait of this unidentified boy was taken in Northamptonshire. The studio was W.G. Page, Oxford Street, Daventry. He wears a sailor suit without the three-stripe detailing. The cap hd a HMS Pilot tally. We note a HNP Pilot launched in 1879. It was a water transport cargo brig. Thast seems a unlikely ship for a boy's tally, unless [perhaps his father was the captain. It does seem to match the approximate date of the portrait here.

British boys wore avariety of trousers with sailor suits. The first unifiorm trousers worn by British enlisted sailors (ratings) with the first sailor suits were bell-botton trousers. This was the scaled down uniform Prince worn by Prince Edward (Bertie) in the famous Winerhaller portrait (1846). Younger boys at mid-century began to wear shortened-length pants ad we see some voys wearing these psnts with middly blouses. e see boys wearing sailor suits with bloomer knickers, knee poasnts, and long trouswers. We do not have many phjotographs from mid-century, but we do have some from the late-19th century. Much more information is available from the 20th century. We see boys weraring sailor suits with knee pants anbd after World War I, short pants. Long pants sailor suits were also worn. Even though the sailor suit originated in England and the Royal Navy had enormous prestige, we do not commonly see boys much more than 8-10 years of age. We see much older boys wearing solder suits on the Continent. This affected the rousers the boys wore to a degree.

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Created: 1:21 AM 6/20/2009
Last updated: 1:21 AM 6/20/2009