Figure 1.--This convex framed and hand painted portrait was signed 'VC'. It looks to be an opal or milk glass portrait. They first appearwd in the late-1850s. This would suggest that the portrait was takedn in the late-50s or early-60s. The hair style also seems appropriaste for this period. The boy is wraring a military styled, naby blue collar-buttoning jacket. The portrait measures 3 1/2" by 2 1/2", a little smaller than a CDV.

These collar-buttoning military jackets in the photographic record were usually dark jackets. We believe that the dark jackets were pmostly navy blue. We see some lighter-colored jackets, but they were not nearly as common. Similarly styled U.S. Army jackets were blue, both before and during the Civil War when these military-styled jackets were popular. Boys wore other colored jackets, but these jackets may have been done only or primarily in blue. We cannot yet confirm this. The black-and white photography of the day suggests navy blue, but this is not definitive. We have found various colorized images which suggest that the dark jackets were usually navy blue. While the number of color images are limited, all of the dark color images we have found are blue. While that does not mean all the dark jackets were blue, it does suggest that most were blue like Army uniforms.

Created: 10:45 PM 4/24/2011
Last updated: 10:45 PM 4/24/2011