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This studio cabinet shows brother and sister Jos and Minnie Porr. Jos' proper names was Joseph Porr. It could also have been Josuha, but the Census confirms it was Joseph. Minnie is a little less straight forward. It could be Minerva. It could also be her proper name. I had an Aunt Minnie born about 1900. A British reader writes, "My mother-in Law's first name was Minnie. It was quite a popular girls' name in the 1880s on both sides of the Atlantic. Many girls in Britain were called Minnie at the time because one of Queen Victoria's Ladies-in Waiting was named Minnie." We are not sure about their ages. We would guess about 9-13 years old. Jos wears a double-breasted knee pants suit. The jacket looks like it is collar buttoning, but if you look closely, there is a small, high-set lapels. He has a stiff white collar, presumably detachable, and a modest floppy bow. It looks like a rounded rather than an Eton collar. No shirt cuffs show at the wrist so we habe no idea what kind of shirt he was wearing. The knee pants he is wearing became standard for boys in the 1890s, even boys Jos' age. The dark long stockings are patterned. Here the patterening seems to be in the weave and not various color patterns. Patterned stockings like this seem less common than flat weaves. Minnie wears a dress in which the skirt shows well below the waistline. We are not sure what kind of dress this would be called. She seems to be wearing the same patterened long stockings 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 in the mid-1880s based on the age of the children. They were born in 1872 and 77. This shows that at least in the big cities, knee pants were becoming shorter in the 1880s and were being worn by older boys. (They were mostly calf-length in the 1870s and mostly worn by boys younger than about 8-10 years). The collar and bow seems about right for the early-/mid-1880s. Of course after 1885/86 the Fauntleroy craze exploded. The boy's age may be a factor here. We suspect that this was his last pair of knee pants. The studio was E. J. Lecoco, Sixth Avenue, New York City.
Their parents were Joseph and Mary, both born in Germany. We are not sure when they emigrated to America, but it was before 1872 when Jos was born. TYhey were 32 and 32 years old in the 1880 census, so they emigrated at fairly young ages, perhaps with their parents. The 1880 census reveals that Jiseph senior was a barber and that they lived at 128 West 19th Street in New York City.
This studio cabinet shows brother and sister Jos and Minnie Porr. They were apparently born in New York, at least in the 1880 Federal Census they lived in New York City. Joseph was the oldest of his siblings, and Minnie was the youngest. He was born in 1872, she was born in 1877. They had two other brothers, Louis and George. Jos' proper names was Joseph Porr. It could also have been Josuha, but the Census confirms it was Joseph. Minnie is a little less straight forward. It could be Minerva. It could also be her proper name. I had an Aunt Minnie born about 1900. A British reader writes, "My mother-in Law's first name was Minnie. It was quite a popular girls' name in the 1880s on both sides of the Atlantic. Many girls in Britain were called Minnie at the time because one of Queen Victoria's Ladies-in Waiting was named Minnie." Minnie holds her doll. We are not sure about their ages. We would guess about 8-13 years old. Joseph at age 8 years was in school. We are mot sure if he was still in school when this portrait was taken.
The portrait is undated. We would guess it was taken in the mid-1880s based on the age of the children. They were born in 1872 and 77. Diven our age estimates, this would date the portrait to about 1885.
Jos wears a double-breasted knee pants suit. The jacket looks like it is collar buttoning, but if you look closely, there is a small, high-set lapels. He has a stiff white collar, presumably detachable, and modest floppy bow. It looks like a rounded rather than an Eton collar. No shirt cuffs show at the wrist so we have no idea what kind of shirt he was wearing. The knee pants he is wearing became standard for boys in the 1890s, even boys Jos' age. The dark long stockings are patterned. Here the patterening seems to be in the weave and not various color patterns. Patterned stockings like this seem less common than flat weaves. Minnie wears a dress in which the skirt shows well below the waistline. We are not sure what kind of dress this would be called. She seems to be wearing the same patterened long stockings her big brother is wearing. This shows that at least in the big cities, knee pants were becoming shorter in the 1880s and were being worn by older boys. (They were mostly calf-length in the 1870s and mostly worn by
boys younger than about 8-10 years). Thee collar and bow seems about right for the early-/mid-1880s. Of course after 1885/86 the Fauntleroy craze exploded. The boy's age may be a factor here. We suspect that this was his last pair of knee pants. We are not sure how to describe his sister's dress. It seems to have a kind of jacket bloused top. She has a simple bow. The skirt is pleated.
The portrait was a standard 29th century cabinet card. The studio was E. J. Lecoco, Sixth Avenue, New York City.
Minnie is showing off a doll, although we are not sure if it is her doll or a studio prop.
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