Figure 1.--This unidentified boy wears a military jacket with brass buttons. There seem to be seven showing. Seven or eight seem common, but some jackets had more. The jacket was probanly blue. Notice the loud checked pants that do not match the jacket. The Daguerretotype is undated. We believe that it is probably taken in the 1840s, because the pants do not match the jacket. Destinguishing 1840s and 50s Dags is very difficult. Note the longish hair, that is another indicator.

We see large numbers of American boys wearing military-style collar-buttoning jackets in the mid-19th century. These jackets in the 1840s and 50s, before the Civil War, were one of the most popular styles for boys. We are not entirely sure about the chronology, although we have begun to complile an increasingly detailed chronology. We have no information on the 1830s at this time. We know that these jackets were popular in the 1840s because of all the Daguerreotype portraits. We can not yet, however, substsantiate this. Here we have a problem because so many Daguerreotypes were not dated. We have many Dags showing boys wearing these jackets. Most Dags were taken in the 1840s and 50s. The problem is that we can not destinguish the 1840s Daggs from those taken in the 1850s. A good example James Wilson. We are not sure if Jamnes and his sister were photgraphed in the 1840s or the 50s. The pants offer a clue. We notice pants in the 1840s thatvoften did not match the jacket. By the 1860s the jackets and pants almost always matched. This we can not yet develop a detailed chronology. We do know these jackets were popular in the 1850s and we also see them in the 60s. We know thast because there were quite a number of CDVs. They were much less common in the 70s, essentially disappearing. br>

The 1830s

We have no information on the 1830s at this time. We are not sure when these military jackets first appeared. We do not think that they were worn in the early-19th century. We are not sure though about the 1830s and we do not have any photographic images to assess given the fact that Daguerreotypes were only invented in 1839. Given the fact that these jackets were so popular in the 1840s, we suspect that the style may have appeared in the 1830s, perhaps the late-30s, but we can not confirm tht. We have not yet found examples in 1830s paintings.

The 1840s

The Daguerreotype process was perfected in France (1939). It rapidly spread to America. There are not many images from the early-40s, but by the mid-40s it was a well-established industry producing substantial numbers of portraits--especially in the United States. As a result, we can confirm that American boys were commonly wearing these military-styled jackets during the 1840s. The jackets were similar to U.S. army uniforms. And the exploits during the Mexican-American War (1846-48) may have helped popularize the style for boys. Boys and men's fashions are often influenced by military styles. We can not yet, however, substsantiate this. Here we have a problem because so many Daguerreotypes were not dated. We have many Dags showing boys wearing these jackets. Most Dags were taken in the 1840s, 50s and even the erly-60. The problem is that we can not destinguish the 1840s Daggs from those taken in the 1850s. A good example James Wilson. We are not sure if Jamnes and his sister were photgraphed in the 1840s or the 50s, at least the early-50s. The pants offer a clue. We notice pants in the 1840s that often did not match the jacket. The unidentified boy here is a good example, but we are not entirely sure thst the Dag was taken in the 1840s (figure 1). We have a few dated portraits confirming this such as Robert E. Lee's son William Henry Fitzhugh Lee taken about 1845. A less obvious element is the white collar. They seem slightly larger in the 40s, not massive like the 80s collars, but notably larger.

The 1850s

We do know these military jackets continued to be popular in the 1850s. The memory of the Mexican-American War and the fashion influenced presumably persisted. Destinuigishing 1840s and 59s Daguerreotypes, however, continues to be a problem in assessing in establishing the chronology of these military jackets. We think the bold patterned pants worn with them were less common in the 1850s, especially by the late-50s. This was cdrtainly the case by the 60s which is confirmed by all the SDV portraits. This is difficult to establish in the 50s with any certainty because of the limited number of dated Dags. We do have a good idea about the second half of the 50s because of the appearance of Ambrotypes. Ambrotypes like Dags were not dated, but are generally associated with a nanarrow time frame--the mid-1850s to rhe early-50s. Thus we can not be positive Ambros were taken in the 50s, but the great bulk were taken in the mid- and late-50s because the CDV very rapidly became the principal photographic format in the early-60s. Neckwear and collar trends can akso be helpful in dating these images.

The 1860s

We continue to see militay-styled jackets in the 1860s, especially the early-60s. They were stiull fairly common in the early-60s. Many other jacket styles, however, and became popular. The military-styled jackets did not disappear. The 1860s were of course domimated by the Civil War. And these jackets were similar to Federal and Confederate military uniforms. The Conderserate soldiers of course wire grey- or beachnut-cvolored uniforms. For some reason, however, this does not seem to have oncreased the populsrity of these jackets. Gradually as the decade progressed these jackets become less popular. And unlike the cut-away jacket, the military-styled jackets as far as we can tell were almost always worn with long pants. Because of rising affluence, some boys may have had these as well as other jackets. The Lincoln boys, foe example, had suits dome cin this style, but they also had other suits. The CDV in American rapidly became popular in the 1860s. Not only does this help date trends, but the rising propsperity and lower cost of the portraits subtantially increased the number of portraits taken. we can confirm thst these jackets wre worn in the early-60s, even of the CDV is not dated. And as it was easy to write on the back of the CDVs, we also have dated examples. By the 1860s the jackets and pants commonly matched. We believe this was a trend which began in the late-50s, but it was a definite well estblish convention by the 60s. Tht does not mean that the jacket and pants always matched, but it was the most common convention. This we can not yet develop a detailed chronology. and we also see them in the 60s. We know thst because there were quite a number of CDVs.

The 1870s

We are not yet sure anout the 1870s. We have not yet found a dated example, confirming tht they were still wortn in the 70s.

Created: 8:01 AM 10/3/2010
Last updated: 8:47 AM 10/1/2016