Figure 1.--Here we have another Canadian turn-of-the-century studio portrait, This one was taken of Master Molson in Montreal on January 24, 1900. The Molson boy, whose Christian name we don't know. He looks to be about 8-9 years old in this exposure. He wears an all white sailor suit, except for the embroidered anchor on the dickey. Notice that he wears what we might think of as a summer sailor suit (white) but that was apparently considered dress-up wear for boys even in frigid January.

Here we have another Canadian turn-of-the-century studio portrait, This one was taken of Master Molson in Montreal on January 24, 1900. The Molson boy, whose Christian name we don't know. He looks to be about 8-9 years old in this exposure. He wears an all white sailor suit, except for the embroidered anchor on the dickey. Notice that he wears what we might think of as a summer sailor suit (white) but that was apparently considered dress-up wear for boys even in frigid January. Wearing white in the Winter seems to have been more common in Canada (at least Montreal than in the States. The white sailor suit is interesting. The dickey has an anchor showing at the chest opening and a matching white tie loosely knotted below the large open collar. The suit has a bloused top and long sleeves but no ornamental buttons at the hem of the knee pants. The ornamental buttons seem to be another convention that was less coomon in Canada than in America. The dress-up strap shoes (or slippers) have ribbon ties across the instep. Under the black ribbed stockings you can make out the long underwear, usual for boys during cold Canadian winters. The boy has a somewhat modern looking short haircut with no obvious part. A Canadian reader tells us, "You have to know that the Molson Family was famous in Canada and mainly in Montreal where they lived because they founded a brewery which was famous and still is. The also founded a bank and were the owner of the Canadien Hockey Club which was the home of celebrities like Maurice Richard. This club won the Stanley Club more than any other Club in the National Hockey League NHL). Montreal was renowned for its beer drinkers at such a point that Montreal was called "The city with a hundred churches and a thousand taverns. " In connection with dates, I guess that the young boy here is Percival Molson. I joined a short story of the family found on google and a résumé of a book written by Karen Molson in 2001."

Created: 11:52 PM 9/30/2005
Last edited: 8:52 PM 10/1/2005