Figure 1.--An e-Bay seller informs HBC that this was a boy performing in a Little Lord Fauntleroy stage productions in the late 19th century, but did not offer an actual name. . This was an unusual cabinent card in that there was no photographer's name so we do not even know where it was taken. To my mind the costume is unusual for a Little Lord Fauntleroy costume. He looks more like a very young footman or other household servant.

Girls in the 19th and early 20th century were commonly employed in the middle and upper-class homes as servants. They worked as maids and in the kitchen helping with the menial chores around the home. The scullery maid for example, was normally a young girl. Some girls with pleasing personalities in wealthy homes would become hand maidens to the ladies of the house. Employing school age girls was especially common before girls began attending state schools regularly and while alternative jobs for women were very limited. It was much less common for boys to be employed as servants in homes, in part because they were generally more difficult to control. On large estates boys might work as grooms and stable boys or be assigned other tasks such as assisting the gardner. A few boys in very wealthy families might be employed as liveried footmen. We have little actual information on these boys. The boys workings as grooms and stables boys or as gardening assistants do appear in literature. A good example is Dickens in Frances Hodgson Burnett's Secret Garden. As they were generally uneducated, there are few first-hand accounts. We do not know of any boys who seved as footmen ans other liveried servants who later wrote a book with his experiences. A HBC reader tells us, "The costume reminds me of the outfit worn by the boy in 'My Life as a Rat' (BBC TV series) The coat and stockings are also reminiscent of royal pages."

Created: July 30, 2002
Last updated: July 30, 2002