Figure 1.--Gay Loinberger was the second son of Lelia Lionberger. She had seen a picture of Little Lord Fauntleroy, perhaps in a 1894 Munseys Magazine. She decided to do Gay's hair in ringlets and have his portrait taken. Gay also wore dresses, at least through age 6.

Gay Loinberger was the second son of Lelia Loinberger. We have read that many mothers were influenced by Mrs. Burnett's Little Lord Fauntleroy. Gay's mother appears to be one of these mothetrs. She had seen a picture of Little Lord Fauntleroy, perhaps in a 1894 Munseys Magazine. She decided to do Gay's hair in ringlets as Fauntleroy was pictured and have a portrait taken as a keepsake of the result (figure 1). The portrait is a good example of an image that would have been mistaken for a girl hadit not been for an inscription on the back. Gay also wore dresses, at least through age 6. I'm not positive precisely when he was breached. We had no further details about Gay's childhood. He had an older brother, Fay, and a younger brother, John. A baby died. A daughter lived in in New York.

Created: November 17, 2003
Last edited: November17, 2003