- *** biographical details on boys clothing: ordinary people alphabetical pages P-Q








Biographical Details on Boys' Clothing Styles: Ordinary People Alphabetical Pages (P-Q)

American English sailor suit
Figure 1.-- Here we have a cabinet portrait of the Potter boys wearing matching sailor suits. The boys are Norman Woolsey Potter who was 4 1/2 years old and Clarence Griffiet Potter who was 7 1/2 years old. The sailor suits the boys wear are not the traditional "V" collar suits, but a much wider collar with elaborate stripes which cross each other. Norman has his hair done in bangs while Clarence has a center part. The studio was Tomkin at 1227 Narket Street, San Francisco, California. The portrait is not dated, but the mount is the new styles that at appeared at the turn-of the 20th cedntury. Thus we would date it about 1900-05.

The HBC biography section is for people or families that have achieved some degree of notariety or fame. HBC readers in many cases have submitted family portraits. HBC has until now not added them to the biography section. We believe now that this is a mistake. Many of the HBC readers contributing family portraits can also provide details about the boy and him family. This background information help us to assess social trends and put the fashions involved in perspective. This is just why the biographical section is an important part of HBC. As a result, HBC has decided to create pages for these relatively unknown people, when some basic family data is available. Incidentally if you find a relative here, please do tell us somehing about him. Here we are listing these biographies alpahabetically to facilitate looking up individual names. The alphabdetical list is the primary data base in this section. While we have not persued geneolgical resreach on these individual, having the names and in many cases the loaction provide the potential to acquire more back ground information in the future which may provide additonal insights into the fashion and life style trends.


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Paddock, Francis (United States, 1909)

Here we see 10 year old Francis Paddock anf his 3-year old little sister. We do not have her name. Francis wears a flat cap and knickers suit. We are not sure about the color, perhaps brown. The long stockings look black, but could have been dark brown. Black long stockings were very common in the early-20th century, but mothers sometines matched the boy's sut and stockings. Franci's little sister wears a great colored hair bow with a plain light-colored dress and long stockings. The stockings were a dark color, but not black. Notice the great pooch who is no doubt guarding the children. Also notice the front of their home, which tells us a good bit about the family. They had a front porch which was very common at the time.

Parfett, Ned (England, 1912)

Ned Parfett was the newspaper boy in the icionuic Titanic disaster photograph. Notice that younger boys did not sell nespapers as was still common in America during 1912. Ned was born in 1896 and died in 1918. He was about 15 years old when when this photograph was taken of him selling newspapers about the Titanic disaster was taken. Ned had three brothers. They lived at Cornwall Road, Waterloo. Ned and his brothers enlisted in the Army during World War II. Ned enlisted in 1916. He became a dispatch rider. One brother served in Dardanelles campaign of 1915. He survived the war. Another brother served in the battle of the Somme in 1916. He survived the war as did Ned's third brother. Only Ned was killed in action. He died October 29, 1918. He was in the quartermaster's store when it was hit by a shell. Tragically it was only 2 weeks bedore the Armistic which ended the War. Ned is buried in the British war cemetery at Verchain-Maugré in France. He was awarded the Military Medal.

Parsons Children (United States, 1869)

We note two CDV photos of a boy and girl, probably siblings. The boy is identified as Russell Parsons age 5 years. Russle wears a fancy outfits with bloomer legs. In the 1870s, knee pants became much more tighly fitted. I can't quite make out the girl's first name. It looks like Lizzie, but I can't say for sure. Her last name is also Parsons and she was 8 years old when the photo was taken. Both photos were taken at the studio of H.S. Mather in Cazenovia, New York. One is dated 1869. I presume the other portrait was also taken at about the same time. The different format suggests that the two portraits were not taken at the same setting. The printing on the back is so similar that it seems likely that the two were probably taken within a year of each other.

Pasabumn(?), Sedrick (United States, about 1900)

The oval portrait format cabinet card is undated, but based on the mount we can date it to the early 1900s. The boy is Sedrick Pasabumn(?)". The first name is a definite. The last 4 letters of the last name is a guess based on the unclear script. Sedrick rick of course was Little Lord Fauntleroy's name, spelled with a 'S' rather than a 'C'. This could be a relative's name or mother may have got the idea from Mrs. Burnett's book. He wears a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit and fancy ruffles. Mother has added long ringlets. Fauntleroy suits were worn with a variety of headwear. Here he wears a sorty peaked cap. He looks about 3-4 years old.

Patternson, J. Nelson (United States, 1880s)

This cabinent card portrait shows a boy wearing a print dress and holding an Indian maiden doll. The dress has a small lace collar and a small floppy bow. It was a colored dress, although we can not tell from the nlsack-and-white photography what color it was. The portrait was taken by Pinehart Photography, Denver, Colorado. S The boy was identified on the back says "J. Nelson Patterson Age 3 years. Grandma". The portrait was undated, but looks to have been taken in the early- or mid-1880s.

Pawlak Children (United States, 1910s)

Here we see the Pawlak children (Henry, Frances, and Cecilia Powlack) on the porch of what we think is their new farm home. The children look to be about 1-7 years old. It is obviously somewhere in the Midwest. Note how flat the land is. The children are two young to know that their farm will play a role in saving millions of European children from starvation. Left-wing Americans today object to calling America an exceptional nation. There was no doubt among the Europens who received the food the Pawlaks produced that America was an exceptional nation.

Peacock Children (Scotland, 1870s)

These three Scottis children look like they were photographed in the 1870s. The portrait is marked 'Peacocks Maggie, George'. This is confusing because there are three children pictured, a girl, baby, and boy. Peacocks or Peacock would seem to be theirv family name. The boy is obviously George and looks to be about 5 years old. Maggie could be the girl or the baby. They look to be about 1-14 years old. George's suit is decorated in heavy embrodered froging and knee pants. He has a modest white collar and a cross tie. The gir's dress has a large lace collar. The studio was Jas Howie in Eduinburgh. Howie's studio was located on Princess Street meaning that Howie was an upscale photiographer.

Peck, Zue Garland (United States, 1892)

Here we have a cabinet card that is both named and dated. These are particularly valuable, especially the daing in our fashion assessments. The boy's first name, Zue, is unusual, especially mixed with his other two rather standard names. The origins of Zue (short for Zuta or Zuzu). The origin is described as Jewish and Slavonic. Peck is a well know name because of the Peck's bad boy stories. We know that Zue was 7 years old and the portrait was April 24, 1892. He wears a cut-away jacket knee pants suit. This was the suit style commonly used for Fauntleroy outfits. Despite the floppy bow (modest for the time), this is not a Fauntleroy outfit. Note that he has an Eton collar rather than a Fauntleroy ruffled collar and a vest rather than a fancy Fauntleroy blouse. Age may have been afactor here, but Fauntleroy collars weee commonly worn by boys at age 7 years. Notice the embroidery on the jacket. As was standard for the time, he wears black long stockings and high-top shoes. The studio was F.G. Schumacher in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles was growing, but not yet a major city. We are not sure if that was a fashion factor.

Peirce, Carl (United States, 1880s)

We notice a cabinet portrait of Carl Peirce posed with his violin. The writing of his last name is a little indestinct. The studio is Busby, Mcurdy, and Fritz, an interesting ethnic mox. The studio wa located in Boston. Along with the boy's name, we know that he wa 8 years old. We are not sure just when it was photographed, but it looks like the 1880s. Carl wears a collar-buttoning velvet suit with two rows of mertal buttons. It kooks like it was a dark colar, but not black. He wears the suit with an elaborate pin-on lace collar and matching wrist trim. Along with the lace collar, Carl has a rather small bow. This suggests the portrait was taken in the early-80s, perhaps even before the publication of Mrs. Burnett's book, but we can not be sure about that. Perhaps mother just did not want to cover up the beautiful lace. Other than the small bow, the portrait could easily have been taken in the late 1880s. The mount style is more consistent with the 880s thsn the 90s. The matching knee pants use the same metal buttons. He akso has dark silk stockings. The color probably matches the suit and low-cut shoes with ribbons.

Pelot, Henri and André Pelot (France/Gabon, about 1910)

Here we see children in Ngomo, Moyen-Ogooué. Gabon during the French colonial period. We see Henri and André Pelot, the children of a French Protestant missionary, with two local mates. They look to be good friends. We know nothing about the two Gabonese children. The two French brothers are wearing striped smocks and hats. The smocks would have been common in France at the time, but seems like they would have been rather uncomfortably hot in tropical Gabon. The boys are barefoot as it was common among missionary kids. Their mates are wearing cloths that surely were wrapped around their waists only to take the photo. We do not note Gabonese children commonly dressing like that at the time.

Pendleton Children (United States, mid-1890s)

The studio portrait caninet card shows four sisters, all in fancy dresses, with one boy/brother gathered together for a family photo. All siblings are identified on reverse as Emma, Cora, Ora, Edna, and Verne Pendleton. Thevphotgraph was taken at the Mackey studio in Medford, Oregon. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1890s, probably the mid-1890s to us. This is suggested both by the mount vasc well as yhe children's clothes. The boy wears a knee pants suit with a wide white collar, blouse, and black long stockings.

Penndorf, Hans (United States, 1929)

This is a 1929 portrait of Hans Penndorf from Cleveland, Ohio. I'm not sure when Hans' family emigrated to American. Most German immigrants Americanized their first names. Although there are many Americans of German ancestry, very few are named Hans. We are also unsure why Hans was sent so far away to school. This was rather unusual for boys this age. Perhaps the whole family moved. Hans was one of the first students at the Landon School. He is probably wearing his new school uniform. The portrait was taken by the F.E. Nelson Studio in Cleveland, apparently just before Hans started school. The Landon Boys' School opened September 12, 1929, not a very propitious time for a private school. The school began using a comverted mansion on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C. They moved soon after in 1934 to Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington. The school still operates in Bethesda as a non-sectarian school and has an excellent academic reputation.

Penfold, Hugh (England, 1910s)

Here we see Hugh Penfold. Unfortunately we know nothing about him except that he was from Ashford, Kent. Hugh is wearing a World War I British army uniform. The portrait was presumably taken during World War I. Hugh looks too young to be an actual soldier. Perhaps he was in a school cadet group.

Percy Boys (United States, 1890s)

This cabinet card is undated, but would have been taken in the 1890s, clearly identified by the women's dress style--especially the large baloon sleeves. We see two boys and two women, all identified. They are Mrs. Minnie Percy, Rufus Percy, and Cleveland Percy. Along with the Percys is Gertrude More Allen (Mrs. Ben Allen), presumably an aunt, and a snoozing pooch. The boys look to be about 3-8 years old. Both are done up in Fauntleroy outfits. There is a major difference in there outfits. The younger boy wears the small classic cut-away jacket. The older boy wears a regular suit jacket. Otherwise the outfits are identical, complete with fancy Fauntleroy blouses, Both boys have long hsir, but not very well done in ringlet curls. The studio was the Swanton Photo Co. in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.

Perkins, Paul J. (United States, 1922)

This is an AZO photo portrait post cardof an African American boy preacher, perhaps 10 years old. He stands with on hand lifted, the other resting on a Bible. He wears glasses, a belted knickers suit. He was Paul J. Perkins. The portrait was taken March 25, 1922. The studio was Patton in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Perry, Flossie and Pauline (United States, 1906-07)

We are not sure what to nmake of this cabinet card. We believe it is an adverising card given out to customers and not annordinary family portarit. It is "The Banker's Child" Co. which apprently was some kind of commercial enterprise, apparently in Cincinnati, Ohio. Also printed on the card was '1906-7' suggesting it was passed out iver a 2 year period. Flossie and Pauline are girl's given names. Th children, however, are dressed like a boy and girl. At the time, younger boys might be dressed like their sisters, but girls of any age were never dressed like boys. Pauline mnay have ringlet curls (worn byboys at the time), but she is dressed like a boy. She is wearing wearing pants--knickers. The image is a little unusual. Pauline is wearing shortened pants showing her knees, but without long stockings. This was seen in Europe, but rarely in America at the time. American women and girls even wore long stockings at the beach.

Perry, Ivan Eugene (United States, 1906-07)

This studio cabinet card portrait according to a note on the back was taken in 1906 or 07. Note the new style mount and the greenish-grey color. The boy is Ivan Eugene Perry. He was 4 or 5 years old and wears a tunic suit with long ringlet curls. Tunic suits suddenly became very popular at the tur-of-the 20th century, but ringlets for boys were beginning to decline in popularity. The ringlets are perfectly positioned so they will show well ijn the portrait. It is coordinated with a lace collar and cuffs and a white belt for contrast. The lace collar and cuffs were a touch of Fauntleroy styling, which began to decline in the nedw century, especially after mid-decade. We are not sure what color the tunic may have been. It was clearly not black. Long stockings and button shoes completed the outfit. Ivan is posed with a tricycle. The mount sizes also varied after the turn of the century. It is is 8x6 inches and the actual photograph 5 1/2x4 inches. The studio was Bergmann in York, Pennsylvania.

Petly, J. (England, 1878)

We do not know a great deal about J. Petly. We do have one photograph from about 1878. It is easpecially interesting because it shows two school boys at the time, presumably on their summer vacation. J. Petly's school friend is William Robinson. They are with William,'s younger brother. The imsge is interesting because it shows what the boys probably wore at school in the 1870s.

Petre Family (Poland/England, 1910s)

Here we have what looks like a European post-card back portrait. The portrait shows a mother reading to her two young sons. The boys look to be about 2-4 years old. The back has a faint hand stamped purple ink photographer's logo. It is difficult to read, but it is in Polish. The boys' sailor suits are fairly standard, but the way the scarfe uis tied suggests that they are European as suggested by the stamp. We believe that that the portrait was taken in the 1910s, but of course that could have been during World War I. We are not sure studios would have used Polish language stamps during the Tsarist era. So it could have been taken in the late-10s or early-20s. The Germans occupied Warsaw (1915) and the Polish Republic was established at the end of World War I (1918). Thus Russian restictions on the use of Plish ended in the mid-1910s. The curious thing is that at the bottom of the card is written in English "Mrs. Petre & Boys". Thus while the portrait seems to have been taken in Poland, the boys may have been English. Petre is an English name, but we think not exclusively English. The was also used on the continent. The English language enscription, however, suggests that they were English. Thus while the portrait appears to have been taken in Poland and the boys wear European sailor suits, we are not sure about their nationality.

Pfeiffer, Heinz (Germany, 1932)

The boy here is a passenger on the SS Orotava' during a 1932 voyage, apparently to the Canary Islands. He is Heinz Pfeiffer, Aunt Frieda's son. He wears a traditional white sailor suit with long streamers. Note the long streamers carefully displayed. Heinz looks to be about 10-11 years old. We know nothing more about him, but he must have come from a well-to-do family. The Orotava was used on a pleasure cruise run back and forth to and from the Canary Islands. Only very well-to-do Germand could have afforded such luxuries in 1932.

Philipps Children (United States, 1899)

This cabinet card portrait provides us a look of the Philipps children from Avoca a small town in western Iowa. The portrait shows two boys and a girl, presumably siblings. Their names are Archie 6 years old, Louie 4 years old, and Ivan 8 months. We at first thought Louie was a boys given that mny younger boys at the time wore dresses. Louie is a boys name, but here it seems to be anick nme, her actual name may have neen Louisa. Research shows their last name was Philips. The 1910 U.S.Census shows Louie was a girl born in 1895, brother Archie (or Archer) in 1893, and baby Ivan in 1898. The portrait is undated, but the Census dta shows that the poertait was taken in 1899. Their parents had three more children by 1910. Archie wears a Fauntleroy blouse with a small floppy bow. His hair is done in ringlets and a top curl. His sister wears a plaid dress with shoulder ruffles. Her hair is don in ringlets with hair bows. The studio is Brandt Bros. in Avoca.

Picard, James Arhur (United States, about 1900)

This outdoors snapshot shows James Arthur Picard and Jack Heal. Presumably they are friends or cousins. For some reason Jack's name is written as "Little Jack Heal". Both boys wear fancy blouses with knee pants, and long black stockings. One boy has a Faunrleroy cut-away jacket. Both boys have long ringlets, but done differently. One boy has an added hair bow. They look about 4-5 years old. The snapshot is undated, but the boys wear styles popular in the 1890s and early 1900s. Because it is an outdoors snapshot rather than a studio cabinent card, it was probably taken about 1900-05. The studio was Emil J. Kraemer, Frederick St., Auburn, New York. I think that means that they rocessed the film rather than took the portrait.

Pierce, Eddie (United States, 1860s)

This CDV portrait shows Eddie Pierce seated on highback chair. While he is identifid, we have no other informtion about Eddie. He looks to be about 4 years old and wears a checked jacketed dress with a white scalloped collar. He also wears a white long stockings. He has long hair, that apparently his mother tried do in ringlets, but they look rather stringy. We see more boys wearing dresses in the 1860s. We do not notice nearly as many in the early phtographic record (1840s-50s). We suspect that this may relect the increasing prosperity of rapidly industrialzing America. We don't see that very often. We believe the portrait was taken in the 1860s, but the early-70s is possible. We know his name because the portrait was in a Pierce family CDV album which had an identifying index. Some albums were done as scrapbooks, but there were albums done with heavy manufactured pages that had slots in which the CDVs or cabinets card portraits could be inserted. The studio was J. C. Moulton in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Fitchburg was a mill town.

The Pisacanes (Italy, late-1950s)

This photograph was taken in a village near Naples during the late-1950s. It show three siblings: Filippo, Beatrice and Pasquale Pisacane. Yhe children look to be aboy 6 months to 5 years of age. The photo was taken in winter as the boys are wearing matching heavy, dark sailor suits. The tradutional sailor suits worn by the boys look elegant, but a little old fashion at the time. We no longr see sailor suits after the 1950s, except for special events like wedding.

Piskozub, Edward (Poland, 1942)

This is a studio portrait of Edward Piskozub in his white First Communion suit sometime during 1942. Edward looks to be about 7-years old. This was during World War II and Poland was at the time occupied by the Germans. Large areas of western Poland had been annexed to the Reich and eastern Poland was administered as Reichkommissariat Ostland. The Germans arrested many priests and restruicted many Church activities like semanaries training new priests. We are unsure just how ceremonies like First Communion were affected. We do not know, for example, if public processions were permitted. We do not know just where in Poland Edward lived. He was injured by a German hand grenade shortly before the First Communion ceremony. We do not have details on the circumstances. You can see a bandages under his heavy white long stockings

Plantagenet Stewart, J.A. (England, about 1800)

The boy here is apparently the Right Honorable J.A. Plantagenet Stewart. Some authirs are less sure about this identification. We know nothing about him, except his name and what can be deduced from the image. His name suggests discent from two of the most importnt British royal families. Younger boys since the late medieval period wore dresses like their sisters. The age of breeching varied from family to family and over time. Boys from well-to-do famikies were commonly breeched later than working-class boys. As school became more common in Europe, this set an age for breeching as boys were commonly breeched for beginning school. Boys from wealthy famikies might be tutored at home and thus could be breeched later than other children. We note boys being breeched from about 3-6 years of age. The age tended to decline in the 19th century. The expanding importance of schools were a factor. The boy here looks a bit older than tge children we normally see wearing dresses., although our early-19th century archive is limited because photograph was not yet invented. He looks to be about 7-8 years of age, somewhat old to still be wearing dresses. He wears an Empire-style dress, a popular style in thecearly-19th century. It is made of white muslin, high-waisted, and with a low drawstring neck and short sleeves, sometimes puffed but not in this case. This wascaxstyle wirn by both girls and women. It was an important style for about three decades, It marked a revolution in women;s fashion, giving them a degree of freedom not seen earlier or for many decades afterwards. The portrait is undated, but the Empire-style dress suggets it was done in the early 1800s.

Platt, David (United States, 1860s)

Here we have 2 1/6 Plate and 1/9 plate Ruby Ambrotypes of David Platt. He looks to be about 10 years old. In the 1/6 Plate image he is holding his dog, a great looking mutt. Notice how he is holding the dog tight. This was necessary to get the dog to sit still for the shot. Slow film speeds mean that any motion would have ruined the portrit. We are guessing that he insisted on having the pooch in the portit, In the 1/9 Plate he is holding his hat for the photo, although we can not make out much of the hat. Both ambrotypes have a tax stamp on the back, dting them to the Civ War era. The 1/6 Plate image sits in a two-tone American Eagle case. In both images, the boy's cheeks are tinted. The boys wear a rather bloucey jacket with a small white collar and bow. He has striped pants, probably long trousers.

Pluto, Leonardo (United States, 1941)

World War II was the greatest struggle in world history involving contless millions of people and incredible stories. One such story involved a Clevelabnd scool boy who incredably was exiled to Siberia!. Leonardo was a 15 year old Polish-American living an average American life in Cleveland, Ohio. Leonardo went on an adventure in 1937 to study with with his uncle, a priest, in Poland. He was there when the NAZIs and Soviets invaded Poland and launced World War II. They were in eastern, the area the Sovuiers seized. ThecSoviets launched barvarous actions against the Poles, similar to what the NAZIs did, but without the Jewish element. Many Poles wre arrested. Some were shit, others wre deported to Siberia. The deportatiions were not well organized and many died bcause if the lck of food abd shelter. Catholic clerics we targeted by the NkVD, but we do not know what happened to his uncle. Leonardo aong with other Poles arrested by the BNJVD must have been deoorted in box cars to the desolate Kirkhiz Steepes (modern Kyrgyzstan). His parents asked for help from the State Department and they managed to get the Soviet Government to release him and he reached home aboard a United Airlines flight, quite a diiference from hiow he got to Central Asia (February 1941). He must have had amazing experiences. Unfiortunateky, as far as we know, he never wrote any of them down.

Poincaré, Henri (France, 1854- )

We note an image a a 7-year old French boy, Henri Poincaré. The portrait would have been done in 1861. We know nothing about Henri or his family. The fact that he had a portrait painted of him suggest that he came from an affluent family. At least we think it is a painting rather than a photograph. He wears a jacket with wide short sleeves and puffed blouse sleeves. He wears kneepants with plain pantalettes.

Poirgets, Andre (France, about 1900)

Here we see a Parian boy in an undated image. We believe that the portrait was made about 1900. Rge boy's name is Andre Poirgets. He was 20 months old. It appears that at this age at least, French boys and girls wore the same style dresses and hair. This photo is an example of how ringlet curls were not as popular in France as in Britain and America. They were in fact called English curls.

Pond, Walter W. (United States, 1860s)

This boy was identified as Walter W. Pond. He looks to be about 7 years old. His name is written at the bottom of the CDV card. This was wear the photographer's name and location was usually printed. The name here is ritten neatly in script. I supose it is possible it was the photographer's name, but the boy's name is more likely. The back is blank. The CDV has been colorized which provides some useful color information. Walter wears a grey cut-away jacket suit. The jacket and vest have blue link trim. The best has blue edging. The pants are heavily bloused like Zouave pants. Walter is seated next to a chair which is colored purple. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1860s.

Pontius, Erma and Merle (United States, about 1890-95)

This cabinet card portrait shows a well-dressed brother and sister in the midst of the Fauntleroy era. The children sre Erma and Merle Pontius from Smithville, Ohio. They look to be about 8-10 years old. The portrait is undated, but the clothing and mount style (pinking with smooth corners) suggests about 1890-95. As was not unciommon st the time. The girl wears a very simple white dress with long puffed sleeves. Her big brother wears a light-colored Little Lord Fauntleroy suit. We think it is a a jacket worn open, altthough this is difficult to tell. The open jackets were especially done for Fauntleroy outdits to best disply the fancy blouses to best effect. Merle's Fauntleroy blouse has such elaboate ruffles that it is hard to see his jacket in addition to the huge floppy bow. Both children have dark, but perhaps not black long stockings. Merle is a little old for such an elaborate Fauntleroy outfit, but the style was very popular at the time. Erma had long ringlet curls. Boys at the time also wore ringlets, but after the boys' curls were cut, sisters might wear riglets as well.

Pool, Charles H. Jr. (United States, 1896)

We have a portrait of Charles H. Pool, Jr. He was photographed in 1896 on the occasion of his third birthday, March 17, 1896. Charles was wearing a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit with an elaborate Fauntleroy blouse and large bow. He was photographed by the Baldwin studio in Wichita, Kansas. He has what look like natural curls.

Pope, Niran Bates (United States, about 1883)

This studio cabinet portrait shows Niran Bates Pope. Niran was born in 1879, so this portrait was taken about 1882-83. Niran was the son of Charles Henry Pope and Elizabeth Bates, daughter of Dr. Niran Bates. The family lived in Maine. The portrait dies not have any studio information. Niran's outfit is a little difficult to make out, but I think it is a kilt suit rather than a dress. He has a large white collar and dark long stockings that seem to match hus kilt-skirt. His tam and overcoat are set to the ight. The portrait is an unusual mix of durniture with a rural landscape. Niran graduated from Harvard University (1902). He worked in the automotive industry. He was also a researcher. He published the History of Felt (think: brake pad). He also an article on the grinding of optic lens. He died 1972.

Porr, Daniel Winn (United States, about 1890)

An American boy had his portrait taken, probably about 1890. He was photographed at the William A. Webster studio at Waltham, Massachusetts. The portrait is a cabinent cardd. The boy's name is Daniel Winn Porr, as best we can make out. Daniel has bangs wih the hair long at the side. He wears a rather unusual long dress.

Porr, Jos and Minnie (United States, about 1890)

This studio cabinet shows brother and sister Jos and Minnie Porr. Jos' proper names was probably Joseph Porr. Minnie is a little less straight forward. It could be Minerva. It could also be her proper name. We are not sure about their ages. We would guess about 9-13 years old. Jos wears a double-breasted knee pants suit. He has a stiff white collar and modest floppy bow. The dark long stockings are patterned. Minnie wears a dress in which the skirt shows well below the waisline. We are not sure what kind of dress this woukd be called. She seems to be wearing the same patterened long stockings that her big brother is wearing. She is showing off a doll, although we are not sure if it is her doll ,or a studio prop. The portrait is undated. We would guess it was taken about 1890. The studio was E. J. Lecoco, Sixth Avenue., New York City.

Porter, Norman and Clarence (United States, about 1900)

Here we have a cabinet portrait of the Potter boys wearing matching sailor suits. The boys are Norman Woolsey Potter who was 4 1/2 years old and Clarence Griffiet Potter who was 7 1/2 years old. The sailor suits the boys wear are not the traditional "V" collar suits, but a much wider collar with elaborate stripes which croos each other. Norman has his hair done in bangs while Clarence has a cebnter part. The studio was Tomkin at 1227 Narket Street, San Francisco, California. The portrait is not dated, but the mount is the new styles that at appeared at the turn-of the 20th century. Thus we would date it about 1900-05.

Porter, Ray Reece (United States, early-1880s)

This cabinet card shows an American boy on a studio glider hobby horse. The boy is we think Ray Reece Porter, the writing on the back is diffuclt to read. Ray was 3 years, 10 moths old. The studio is Cummings Bros, but the location is location unknown. This is unusual for an American studio portrait and one reason that we date it to the raely-1880s. We are unsure about the date. While we would guess the early-1880s, the late-70s is possible. The boy wears a kilt suit with a muted plaid. It has a cut-away jacket and vest. Moyher has added a lace collar and sleeve cuffs.

Potts, Robert Austin (United States, 1930)

This portrait shows a boy with a flute. It is mounted in a brown folder. The folder measures 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches. The boy is identified on the back as Robert Austin Potts, although the writing is a little indestinct. He was from Modesto, California. He is 14 years old and the photo was taken July 29, 1930. There is a message in pencil stating: "A birthday gift for Bamby face." He looks to us to be wearing some kind of band uniform. His sweater has color detailing and a monogram. He wears white long pants which we see being used for band uniforms at the time.

Powell Children (United States, 1880s)

We do not know much about the Powell children, but we do know they were from Boston. We have a cabinet photo of two boys and a girl. The children are described on the back as: "Fred'k Thomas Powell born Mar 19th/81 Annie Matilda Powell .. Feb 21st/83 Frank Alexander Powell..Nov 21st/84 Pictures taken Oct 1886" At the bottom of the photo it identified the photographic studio as: Bushby & Macurdy, 521 Washington Street, Boston

Price, Garrett (United States, 1913)

The photograph here shows a group of Freshman at the University of Wyoming at Larmie in 1913-14. We have the names of the students: from left to right, E. H. Davis, A. Downey, T. Foster, Garrett Price, M. Arnold, F. Fowler, and J. Anderson. The boys and girls here are presumably aged about 18 to 19, having just graduated from high school a few months earlier. Two of the boys (Davis and Anderson) wear the expected long trousers suits with white shirts and ties, but the third boy, Garrett Price (standing alone in the center) still wears a knickers suit with white shirt and tie.

The Priest Brothers (United States, 1900s)

This oval format cabinet card shows the two Priest brothers, aged 2-5 years old. We believe the portrait would have been taken in the 1900s, but the early-1910s is possible. The writing on the back looks like "Gerald Kerr Priest age 5 years; Harold Rodney Priest age 2 years 8 months". Harold has curly hair and wears a tunic suit with a black belt, wide collar, and short socks. Notice the bows on his shoes. In the 19th century, long stockings were more common. His big brother wears a sailor suit with bloomer knickers, white long stockings, and strap shoes. It is a light-colored suit, probably light blue. The studio was Lynn and Cram in Seattle, Washington.

Pritchett, Howard (United States, 1920s)

A HBC reader sent us this account he found of an American boy named Howard Prichett. "It was under the shadow of this matriarchal monopoly that my father, Howard Pritchartt, spent his childhood. His mother, Bessie Rose, was Katherine's sister, and boy, was she disappointed when her only child wasn't the girl she had always wanted. She had visions of playing dress-up with a beautiful little girl. Not to worry. Bessie Rose decided she'd dress him any way she darned well pleased, and that's exactly what she did. ...." We are not entirely sure about this account, but there is a family snapshot associated with it.

Pritchard, Howell and William (United States, about 1890)

Brothers Howell and William Pritchard had a cabinet card portrait taken about 1890. The portrait is undated, but gold fluted edge was perforated/scalloped with straight corners. Card with peforated edges and straight corners were popular in the late 1880s and 1890s. The portrait was taken by G. M. Greene, Locust Street, Opposite the Park, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The boys wear large Eton-shaped collars, but they did not srtand up like a true Eton collar. They had moderate-sized floppy bows with the llarge collars. The boys look to be about 6-8 years old.

Proulx, Arthur (United States, 1908)

Here we see Arthur Proulx and his pug dog Ruth. Unfortunately we have no information about Arthur. We do know that the snap shot was taken in 1908. Arthur wears a white or light-colored tunic suit with double"t"-stap sandals without any socks.

Purcell, Tommy (United States, 1892)

This cabinet card portrait was identified as 'Mater Tommy Purcell'. Presumably is proper name was Thomas. He was 5 yeatrs ols and not yet breeched. He wears a sailor blouse and a whte pleated skirt without any other kilt features. The skirt is a little shorter than was common. He is wearing dark long stockings. The portrait was taken in 1892. The studio was C.F. [letters indestinct] Smith in Sterling, Illinois. The mount is very plain. Tommy is pictured with a violin. It is rare to see such a young boy with a violin in the 19th century, although more common today. In earlier portraits, chikden were sometines pictured with instruments they could not play. By the 189s it was increasingly common for children to learn instruments in prosperous America.

Purdy, Douglas (England, 1895)

This cabinet card portrait shows 6-year old Douglas Purdy (writing indistinct) English boy wearing a classic sailor suit with a wide-brimmed sailor hat. Notice the short pants and knee socks. The studio was Lewis & Co in Maidstone, Kent. Sailor suits like this were lmost a standard for middle-class English boys at the time.

Puzzolo, Carmelo (Italy, 1944)

Italy still lagged behind other major European countries at the time of World War II. Education was one of these areas. Here we see Carmelo Puzzolo. He was born in 1934 in San Pietro in Bagno, a village 35 mi E of Florence. We know that his father came from Sicily. Carmelo attended the 5th grade, at the time the last of compulsory attendance, in the school year 1944-1945 and then started working as a house painter. Here we have a photo of Carmelo with two coworkers. Most advanced European countries had mandarory promary school programs to about 12-13 years of age. This changed very quickly after the War with the capitalist-generated Italian Economic Miracle.

Q


Queman family (United States, 1960s)

Here we see the children in the Queman family. This picture was taken in Red Creek, New York. Unfortunately it is undated, but looks like the 1960s to us. We know the children names. From top to bottom, left to right: Robert, Rosemary, Mark, Beth, Andrea, David and Betsy. Rosemary, Mark, Beth and Andrea are siblings. Their family name is Queman, a Dutch original family. Robert, David and Betsy are their cousins. The children mostly wear short pants, including the girls. The photogrph is a good example of how girls were commonly wearing shorts for casual wear by the 1960s. The children were also barefoot. This was becoming less common, but was not unknown around the home during the summer.

Quinn, Freddie (United States, 1890s)

Here we have a cabinent portrait of Feddie Quinn with his cherished little dog. The portrait is not datedm but we would guess was taken in the 1890s. The back of the card reads "Freddy Quinn with dog he called 'My Friend'". The portrait was taken by J.W. Sires out in South Oil City, Pennsylvania. It certainly looks like a great little dog. Freddie has shoulder-length ringlet curls. The hair is not as neatly done as many boys we have noted wearing ringlet curls. He wears a rather long and very plain dress. It is a dark color, but I am not sure about the color. It does not look like black.








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Created: 10:16 PM 10/17/2005
Last updated: 9:54 PM 8/30/2023