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As in other countries, English boys were generally breeched before beginning school at about 6 years of age. Here England was a little different than Ameica and Germany in that it was relatively late in developing a public school system. The wealthy in England were unsure about the scocial consequences of educating the children of the working class. Thus for much of the 19th century, working-class children were receiving very little education. Another complicating factor is that many affluent parents educated their younger children at home. HBC believes the image here shows a boy about 5-6 years old, probably photographed in the 1880s (figure 1). An English reader reports, "From the style of this cabinet card I'd agree that could date from the 1880s, possibly the late 1870s." Younger working-class children might hve worn dresses, but this was no longer the case with 6-year olds. This means that we do not see many 6-year olds wearing dresses. This may not be accurately reoresented in the photogrohic record because the workirg-class was less likely to have portraits taken than the afflient. Here american practices may not be a good indicator in that Americn workers were betterpaid than European workers.
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