Figure 1.--This unidentified and unattributed portrait shows an English boy wearing what looks to be a dark green velvet dress in the 19th century. There is no collar, but a wide square open neck. As in America, some boys had their curls cut before and others after breaching.

This unidentified and unattributed portrait shows an English boy wearing what looks to be a dark green velvet dress in the 19th century. We do not know who the boys was or the artist. We believe that it is English as it was being sold in England. There are many modern reproductions are even modern pintings purporting to be older works. Thuis with unattributed works you can not be sure, but this may well be a 19th century painting. There is no collar, but a wide square open neck. These open collar dresses were more common in the early and mid-19th century than the late 19th century. Only part of the dress is shown. It loks to be a green velvet dress with puff sleaves. As in America, some boys had their curls cut before and others after breaching. This boys' mother believed in cutting his hair well before breaching.

Created: May 17, 2002
Last updated: 2:03 AM 1/29/2010