Figure 5.--Randal is seen here with his mother at about 6 years of age. He is still wearing dresses, in this case a rather fancy one. Also notice the length of his hair, uncurled in this image.

The last photograph of Randall, in a fancy child’s dress was taken when he was 6 years old. He is pictured on a studio swing with his mother. He is now wearing what looks to be a white dress with a fancy, but not overly large collar. It looks to be a back buttoning dress. As it is all white, it is difficult to see styling details. There is fancy trim on the lower part of the long sleeves. His hair appears even longer than when he wore the Fauntleroy curls, but it is not styled into formal ringlets, He appears to be wearing a fancy hat with a plume, and he and his mother are smiling. The photograph certainly seems to be a happy event. His hair in this photograph is very long, extending well beyond his shoulders, rather unusual for an American boy and more like the French custom of the day. In this photograph it is uncurled. Interestingly, the dresses that his mother chose for Randal usually did not have the features that had begun to appear on dresses made for boys in the 1880s. However, boys did not have to wear these styles. Many dresses for younger children were simply called "children’s" dresses. The boy dresses were plainer and often had belts or front buttons. Randal’s dress had front buttons, but it is hardly plain. His mother obviously did not like the style of the dresses specially made for boys.

According to grandmother, the picture on the swing was taken shortly before Randal’s curls were cut and he was breeched. Family lore indicates that Cynthia wanted their portrait taken as a remembrance of Randal when he was still “pretty” and before he was breeched. His hair appears quite long, but one must remember that putting hair in ringlet or spiral curls reduced its apparent length by a third or more. Other photos on HBC show boys with ringlets to mid-back or longer, which means that when worn naturally, their hair was probably waist-length. Of course, a lot depended on how fast a boy’s hair grew. My grandfather’s was evidently healthy and grew quickly, and it had never been cut-thus the length.

A HBC reader writes, "I found a portrait of Georgina Elizabeth Ward (nee Moncreiff), Countess of Dudley (1846-1929) with her daughter on a swing (click on figure 11). It reminded me of the image here (figure 1). When I first saw the image of the Countess and her daughter, I assumed that the last Virginia Boy image was a fake. However, on closer inspection, I see that the image are of different people. I think the boy's mother must have seen this image in a magazine and dressed herself and her son accordingly for a photograph. That is as an English Countess and her daughter. I think the mother may have had illusions of grandure, which would certainly fit with the author's description of her as a social climber.

Created: 12:22 AM 4/30/2005
Last updated: 12:22 AM 4/30/2005