Figure 1.--This cabinet card shows two smartly dressed brothers. They wear striped blazers and matching caps. We are not sure about the stripe colors, but the boys wear white long pants. Outfits like this among the well-to-do in Britain were probably not uncommon. We rarely see boys wearing blazers like this in America. The The boys are identified as Nat and Dabuey (writing indestinct) Grant. They are further identified as the sons of Wilton D. Grant and the grandsons of Nath. B.K. Grant. We are not sure if the boys are dressed in outfits they wore or costumes. The striped blazers and caps might be Englisgh school uniforms, but the boys are Americans. And they are wearing wide cumberbunds. This suggests that the blazers are not school uniform. The pose it also interesting. I have never seen brothers posed like this before. It looks to us like the way dancers might pose.

This cabinet card shows two smartly dressed brothers. They wear striped blazers and matching caps. The stripes are differentb in the two blazers and the cap. One would think that if you go to thge trouble to dress the boys identically, one cwoukld chpse identical stripes. We are not sure about the stripe colors, but the boys wear white long pants. Their stiff collars and white bow ties are also identical. Outfits like this among the well-to-do in Britain were probably not uncommon. We rarely see boys wearing blazers like this in America. The The boys are identified as Nat and Dabuey (writing indestinct) Grant. They are further identified as the sons of Wilton D. Grant and the grandsons of Nath. B.K. Grant. We are not sure if the boys are dressed in outfits they wore or costumes. The striped blazers and caps might be Englisgh school uniforms, but the boys are Americans. And they are wearing wide cumberbunds. This suggests that the blazers are not school uniform. The pose it also interesting. I have never seen brothers posed like this before. It is not a natural pose, but looks to us like the way dancers might pose. It is, for ecample, how Irish dancers pose before beginning to dance. Grant is not an Irish name, it is an English nanme. It is possible the boys were performers. It was quite common for boys this age to wear knee pants in the 1890s, further suggesting the outfits were costumes. The studio was the W.T. Dole studio in Kansas City, Missouri. The portrait is undated, but the mount suggests the 1890s.

Created: 3:10 AM 10/26/2010
Last updated: 3:11 AM 10/26/2010