Figure 1.--This CDV had no commercial printing or inscriptions by the parents. All we know for sure is that it is an American portrait, probably taken in the 1860s or perhaps the early 70s. CDV of a boy or a girl wearing a dress and holding a photo album. We think the child is probably a boy, but there is now way to be sure.

This is a tough one. Our initial assumption is that boys were more commonly pictured with books than girls. This is primarily beczause we know that much more attentiion dufring the 19th century was given to boys' education tghan girls edication. Girls were seen as more frivelous and less capable of serious thought. While this is well know, we are less sure just how this affected the selection of books as props. We think it did, but can not yet confirm this. The number of confirmed such images are limited and in many available images it is very difficult to tell. While we would like these photographic prop pages to be instructive, we are also using them to collect information. Here there are a range of questions such as country differences and changing additudes over time. Much more attention, for example, was being given to girls education by the end of the 19th century. Here we see a CDV of a boy or a girl wearing a dress and holding a photo album. We think the child is probably a boy. The book is one factor. The short hair and and facial characteristics also seem boyish to us. There is, however, now way to be sure. Girls mightbhave short hair also and facial characteristics are not always a perfect indicator sith younger children. We also wonder abour photographic alnums. We are not at all sure if the conventions associated with books are the same for photographic albums.

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Created: 2:34 AM 3/16/2006
Last updated: 2:34 AM 3/16/2006