Figure 1.-- This unidentified portrait was taken in Marion Indiana. It is undated, but we would gues was taken in the 1880s. The child looks rather like a girl, but for several reasons we believe the child is a boy. Ringlets like this were common for boys, perhaps more common than for girls. The lace collar was also commonly worn by boys. In addition, the plain styling of the dress, the stance, and the whip all seem to suggest the child is a boy. |
A whip is a prop we have noted in late 19th Century photographic portraits. We also note them in magazine and catalog advertizing illustrations. We do not have any definitive statement on what this represented and how to interpret them. I think they represented buggy whips associated with driving horses and carriages. Some seem small. Perhaps there were toy whips for children. Boys probably liked the idea of driving carriages like modern boys want to drive cars. Thus a whip probably strongly suggests a boy. We are unsure just how commonly they were actually used as children's toys. Boys being boys, if you give a boy a whip, he is likely to use it on animals and playmates. So we are unsure just how common they are. A riding crop, however, is more ambiguous and could be either a boy or girl as both boys and girls rode horses, sometimes a young age. Remember that many studios had props for portraits. Thus the whips and crops may or may not be the personal possessions of the individuals photographed.
A whip is an implement to drive animals. It usually consists of a rigid part normally wood to which a flexible lash is attached, often leather or cord. We have noted other implements which are clearly not canes, but look to be switches that do not have the leather lash attached. We are not sure precisely how to describe these implements. They may or may not be whips, but are clearly related. We see an example here (figure 1). An America boy holds a stick which along with the leggings suggest he is going horse-back riding.
A whip is a prop we have noted in late 19th century portraits. We note them in painted portraits. A good example is a Danish boy in 1818. Another example is English family in the 1830s. By the mid-19th century they also began gto appear in photographic portraits. We notice many photographic portraits with boys, often in skirted outfits. Am account of Paul, a French boy describes a familt portrait of him wearing a dress and holding a whip. A portrait of an American boy shows him wearing a white dress and holding a large black whip.
We note boys in different countries photographed with whip props. Most of the available images are American, but this reflects the fact that our American archive is more extensive. We do note boys in other countries with whip props as well One example is an unidentified German boy about 1905.
We note boys of all ages photographed with whips. Here there appear to be two approaches. Younger boys not yet breeched might be poised with a whip to make it clear the child was a boy. Older boys might be poised with a whip as an illistration of a favorite toy. With older boys not yet breeched it is not clear just what the purpose of the whip was, perhaps a mix of the two purposes.
We also note whips them in magazine and catalog adevertizing illustrations.
Often we see them used with boys outfited in dresses aznd other skirted outfits. Thus we believe that they were used to emphasize the fact that the child illustrated was a boy. A good example is a Dileneator illustration in 1890. Advertizer had a bit of a problem. With portraits all the members of a family would have known who was who. Of course with magazine illustrations, retailers often needed to indicate if a garment was appropriate for a boy or girl. In the 19th and early 20th century this was sometimes difficult to tell. The obvious association here is helpful in helping to assess gender in unidentified photographic portraits.
We do not have any definitive statement on what this represented and how to interpret them. We think that they were probably props that emphasize that younger boys, often dressed in skirted garments, are definitely boys. We suspect that they were props that the photo studio had handy for their customers. They also seem to be toys. They look to be small, caled down models of actual buggy whips. The buggy whips the children are posed with seem to be toys. They look to be small, caled down models of actual buggy whips. I think they represented buggy whips associated with driving horses and carriages. Some seem small. Perhaps there were toy whips for children. Boys probably liked the idea of driving carriages like modern boys want to drive cars. A good example is an English boy with his hobby horse in the 1860s. Thus a whip probably strongly suggests a boy. We believe that riding crops have to be considered differently than buggy whips. Both boys and girls rode so the riding crop may not have had gender connotations.
Until the turn of the 20th century, horses were important in the lives of children and adults. Just as modern boys dream of driving cars, boys used to dream of driving and riding horses. It is natural that this desire was reflected in their play. Thus we note numerous images of children playing with what look like minature horse and reigns as well as whips. We do not know what the game was called. They show surprising similarity to leading strings or child saftey harnesses. The context of these images with children involved on both ends, suggest that they are toys. We do not yet have, however, any actual contemporary written sources describing this type of play. We have noted thm depicted in the Sears catalog.
A riding crop, however, is more ambiguous and could be either a boy or girl as both boys and girls rode horses, sometimes a young age.
Remember that many studios had props for portraits. Thus the whips and crops may or may not be the personal possessions of the individuals photographed.
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