Figure 1.--This image shows James Martin probably around 1895m perhaps a few years later in a simple white dress and hair bow. HBC believes it was taken the day James was breeched. This is a black and white portrait that was printed on sepia paper and then color painted--note the flowers. Photo supplied courtesy of the RG collection.

A HBC reader has submitted two fascinating portraits of James Martin. We do not know a great deal about James, except that he was was 5 years old when the portraits were taken and that he had a particularly adoring mother, even by 19th century standards. We assume that the portraits commemorate the day he was breeched as they were taken before and after--presumably under the watchful direction of his teary-eyed mother. As was often the case, breeching did not mean James' curls were cut, this would be done when he was older. His mother did, however, remove his hair bow--perhaps for ever. Before breeching he wears a simple white summer frock or shift and after breeching he wears a very boyish sailor suit. HBC dates the portrait to the mid-1890s, but can not be more specific.

James

We have little infornation about James other than he is 5 years old. We believe he was an American boy, although adding the flowers was rather unusual for am American portrait. This presumably reflects his mother's artistic bent. The portraits may have been taken on his birthday, but we are not sure about that. The portraits probably tell us more about James' mother than Janes himself. We are not surewhat Janes thought about his breeching or different outfits. Some boys at age 5 began asking for more boyish clothes. We do not know if this was rtue in James' case. We do note that he had quite different expressions in the two images.

Mrs. Martin

James appears to have had a particularly adoring mother, even by 19th century standards. She cerainly took a great deal of care with Jame's hair do. She has also given him a locketm perhaps with a picture of her. What is especially notable is that Mrs. Martin has written on the back of the portrait, "Dressed as a girl". Generally the styles that we today see as girlish were in the 19th century seen as rather appropriate boys' wear and thus it was not quite correct to say that boys were dressed as girls. Some aspects of James's clothes are, however, rather girlish for the times such as the large hair bowm the hair style, the dress without a collar, the large locket, and the fact that heis wearing a petticoat rather than drawers or pantalets. All of this tell us that Mrs. Martin was trying to hang on to her beloved James as long as possible before he became a rough boy and then would inevitably move apart from her.

Breeching

We assume that the portraits commemorate the day he was breeched as they were taken before and after--presumably under the watchful direction of his teary-eyed mother. As was often the case, breeching did not mean James' curls were cut, this would be done when he was older. His mother did, however, remove his hair bow--perhaps for ever. Before breeching he wears a simple white summer frock or shift and after breeching he wears a very boyish sailor suit.

Chronology

HBC dates the portrait to the mid-1890s, but can not be more specific. We believe that the large hair bow and relativey short hair suggest that this is not a 1880s image. Also the fact that his first outfit after breeching was a sailor suit rather than a kilt suit also suggests that the date was not the 1880s even early 1890s. Especially in Mrs. Marin's case, you might suspect that she would have chosen a kilt suit rather than a sailor suit. The sailor suit itself looks like one which might have been worn around 1895-1905. We do not think, however, that this is a 20th century image. The reason for this is the long black stockings. Long black stockings were worn in the 1900s, but for a small child short socks or even white stockings would seem more fashionable. It is possible, however, that the portrait could have been taken in the early 1900s.

Hair Style

The boy has long blond hair which is done in an unsual style for an American boy the 1890s. He has ringlets, but they fall well short of his shoulders. His hair is swept up to the crown of his hair in a style rather more common to a girl. It is crown by an enormous white hair bow, a much larger one than normally worn by boys. It was usually girls that had the large hair bows.

Clothing

Several items of clothing that Janes is wearing in the two portraits is wearing and clothing detailing are worthy of note.

Dress before breeching

James in the portrait before breeching wears a very light, collarless shift which he wears with a large locket. Rather unusually for these breeching sets, his mother has him delicately lift up the hem of his dress so that his lace trimmed petticoat can be seen. James weas petticoats rather than pantalets. Interestingly, he wears the exact same long black stockings and twin bar strap shoes in both outfits.

Figure 2.--Here is James after breeching in his brand new tunic sailor suit. His hair looks rather dishelved compared to the previous portrait, perhaps as a result of removing the hair bow. Mrs. Martin may have been too upset to have rearranged his hair properly for this shot. Photo supplied courtesy of the RG collection.

Sailor suit after breeching

James in the portrait after breeching looks quite different, even though his curls are not cut, the hair bow has been removed. He now wears a natty blue sailor suit with a white enbroidered dicky. He wears the same long black stockings with strap shoes. His pose is quite similar to that inmany breeching portraits, unlike the carefully crafted pose in his before breeching portrait.

Props

Unlike many contemporary portraits, James does not have any boyhood props such as a ball or favorite toy. The only props are flowers and the flower arrangements are quite different in the before and after phase.

Seasonality

One rather surprising aspect of the two outfits was the seeming seasonal discontinuity. The white shift he is wearing, the long stockings not withsranding, look like a summer dress for warm weather. Not only is it very light and short sleeves, but there is no collar and he does not wear a warm blouse underneath. The sailor suit on the other hand looks suitable for winter wear. Not only is it black, with a dicky, but it looks to be a heavy material. Perhaps the picture was taken at the end of the summer. The white dress is what he was wearing and the heavy sailor suitis whathe will wear for the cool fall and winter weather.

Portrait

This image is definitely a studio portrait. From the very similar background, chair, and the fact that James is wearing the same shoes and stockings, we believe that James went to the studio in his white dress. We are not sure if the hairbow was added at the studio or was worn there. Thecafter breeching portrait was almostsurely dime in the same day. Mother than dressed him in his brand new sailor suit (notice the sleeves are a bit long) for the after shot.

James as an Adult

The fact that James has a rather destinctive middle name means that it might be possible to find some information about him and his family. Theremust be thousands of JaMes Martins over time, but the number of James PARVIN Martins must be very limited. Unfortunately a basic internet serch did not provide any matches.

Created: September 17, 2001
Last edited: September 19, 2001