Fihure 1.--~This unidentified boy proudly displays his awards. We are mot sure, however, what the awards represent. He has three of them. We can tell from the mount that the portrait was taken around 1890. The studio was Williams in Mt. Sterling, Illinois. Notice the pose. It was commonly seen in the 19th centuet and inspired by Napoleon. It had become rarther rare by the 1890s. Put your cursor on the image for a closeup. of the awards.

We notice boys wearing different kinds of award bages and pins. these are a little differebnt than other jewlelry items in that they have to be earned and not just purchased. This seems especially common in America and Britain. We are not entirely sure for what these badges were awarded. Modern boys often win sports awards, but the badges we see are mostly from the late-19th and early-20th century. Boys at the time did not normally receive awards like these for sports. More likely thet were awards for perfect attendance at schools, memorizing Bible verses, or elocution awards. Perhaps readers will have a better idea about these awards. We notice numerous portraits with boys wearing awards. Unfortunately the esolution is usually not good enough to see for just what they were awards. Various groups gave these awards, including churches, fraternal societies, and schools.

Created: 2:53 AM 2/17/2011
Last updated: 2:53 AM 2/17/2011