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We know some English boys wore Eton collars in the early-19th century. We do not notice than to any extent iun the 18th century. We are not sure, however, just how common they were in America. Before photography this is is difficult to tell. And we know even less about the Eton collar in America. We think that before the detachable collar that Eton collars were not very common, meaning more or less a little before mid-century. Through the 1830s we have to rely on paintings and drawings to find collars. This our knowledge of the Eton collar in America is very limited. Through the 1830s we have to rely on paintings and drawings to find collars. We have a much beter idea of fashions in the 1840s as a result of the invention of photography. We have noted collars with the Eton look as early as the 1840s. The detachable collar became increasingly popular in the 1840s. We see them in the Dagerreotype portraits that brcame so popular in the 40s. Almost as soon as Daguerre perfected his process, Daguerreotype studios began popping up all over the United States. By the end of the decade therevwere more studios in America than not only France, but allm of Europe. These images, however, are difficult to date. And unlike CDVs and cabinent cards, there was not easu way to write a name or date. We know American boys wore Etin collars in the 1850s. We see them in Daguerreptype portraits, but as we say we can not definitively date dags to the 1840s or 50s. Ambros are a different matter. Ambros were most taken in the 1850 (1855-59) or very early-60s. So mbris give us a good idea about 1850s fshions and if we do not see these styles in the CDV recird we can assume they are 1859s records. And we see some good sized Eton collars in the 1850s. We note boys wearing classic Eton collars with the collar buttoning military jackets that were popular in the 1850s. They seen similar to the U.S. army jackets worn at the time. There is an explosion of photographic mages in the 1860s as a result of the CDV. We this know a great deal about 1860s fashions. We note white, but generally small collars being worn in the 1860s. I have not noted American boys wearing formal Eton collars during the 1860s. White collars were common, and we see some shaped like Eton collars, although noting like the large stiff collars we see at mid-century. The collars we see in the 1860s much smaller and not as stiff as a formal Eron collar. we believe they were fairly common in Britain, but we do so see many in Aerica during the 1860s. The earliest Eton collars we have noted in America come from the 1840s. We do not see any in 1860s, but again begin to see them in the 70s. The emaculate Eton collar reappeared in the 1870s for a well dressed boy's wardrobe. They were not yet ubiquitous, but we see a number of them. An example here is Dan Brown, but unfortunately the image is not dated. We believe the portrait was made in the 1870s, but we can not be certain. Note that the collar tips are not sharp. We see Eton shaped collars in America at mid-century. It is only by the 1880s that we begin to see large Eton collars. The collars in the 60s tend to be very small and only a little larger by the 70s. By the 80s, however, we begin to see really large collars. Of course the largest were the Funtleroy collars. Eton collars were not that large, but we do see some very substantial Eton collars. We note Eton collars being with a variety of jackets. Norfolk suits seem especially popular in the 1880s. A example is the boy here in 1882 (figure 1). We see a number of boys wearing Eton collars, but they were noway as commom as Fauntleroy collars. We note many portraits of American boys wearing Eton collasrs in the 1890s. We see a variety of collars worn during the decade, but it wa one of the popular collar styles. While a boy's first suit might be a Fauntleroy suit, many boys next wore sack suits with Eton collars. It was a popular style, primarily for school-age boys. This includes boys into their early teens. There seems to have been a social-class factor involved here. Most of the Eton collars we have noted were worn by boys that seem to come from well-to-do or at least families in comfortable circumstances. They do not appear to have been as prevalent as in England, but we see a good many boys wearing them. They were worn with a variety of suits. We note them work with both Norfolk suits and standard sack suits.
We know some English boys wore Eton collars in the early-19th century. We do not notice than to any extent iun the 18th century. We are not sure, however, just how common they were in America. Before photography this is is difficult to tell. And we know even less about the Eton collar in America. We think that before the detachable collar that Eton collars were not very common, meaning more or less a little before mid-century.
Through the 1830s we have to rely on paintings and drawings to find collars. This our knowledge of the Eton collar in America is very limited. We do know that the detachable collar was invented in 1834.
We have a much beter idea of fashions in the 1840s as a result of the invention of photography. We have noted collars with the Eton look as early as the 1840s. The detachable collar became increasingly popular in the 1840s. We see them in the Dagerreotype portraits that brcame so popular in the 40s. Almost as soon as Daguerre perfected his process, Daguerreotype studios began popping up all over the United States. By the end of the decade therevwere more studios in America than not only France, but allm of Europe. These images, however, are difficult to date. And unlike CDVs and cabinent cards, there was not easu way to write a name or date. We are unable to differentiate between 1840s and 1850s dags. Perhaps readers may have some pointers here. We can make some guess based on the clothing, but that is not the same as having a definitive date. One aid is the Ambrotype which appeared about 1855. If we see fashions that do not show up in Ambros, then the Dags are likeky to be from the 1840s. We have found a number of Dags we think date to the 40s that show boys wearing Eton collars, including some big bold collars. Some were worn with neckwear.
We know American boys wore Etin collars in the 1850s. We see them in Daguerreptype portraits, but as we say we can not definitively date dags to the 1840s or 50s. Ambros are a different matter. Ambros were most taken in the 1850 (1855-59) or very early-60s. So mbris give us a good idea about 1850s fshions and if we do not see these styles in the CDV recird we can assume they are 1859s records. And we see some good sized Eton collars in the 1850s. We note boys wearing classic Eton collars with the collar buttoning military jackets that were popular in the 1850s. They seen similar to the U.S. army jackets worn at the time. The Eton collar is a boyish addition. We are not sure about sizes, but we notice some very good sized examples. Although it is not always easy to tell from the photographic record, but the detachable collar was was well-established by the 1850s.
There is an explosion of photographic mages in the 1860s as a result of the CDV. We this know a great deal about 1860s fashions. We note white, but generally small collars being worn in the 1860s. I have not noted American boys wearing formal Eton collars during the 1860s. White collars were common, and we see some shaped like Eton collars, although noting like the large stiff collars we see at mid-century. The collars we see in the 1860s much smaller and not as stiff as a formal Eron collar. we believe they were fairly common in Britain, but we do so see many in Aerica during the 1860s.
The earliest Eton collars we have noted in America come from the 1840s. We do not see any in 1860s, but again begin to see them in the 70s. The emaculate Eton collar reappeared in the 1870s for a well dressed boy's wardrobe. They were not yet ubiquitous, but we see a number of them. An example here is Dan Brown, but unfortunately the image is not dated. We believe the portrait was made in the 1870s, but we can not be certain. Note that the collar tips are not sharp.
We see Eton shaped collars in America at mid-century. It is only by the 1880s that we begin to see large Eton collars. The collars in the 60s tend to be very small and only a little larger by the 70s. By the 80s, however, we begin to see really large collars. Of course the largest were the Funtleroy collars. Eton collars were not that large, but we do see some very substantial Eton collars. We note Eton collars being with a variety of jackets. Norfolk suits seem especially popular in the 1880s. A example is the boy here in 1882 (figure 1). We see a number of boys wearing Eton collars, but they were noway as commom as Fauntleroy collars. They tended to be worn more by school age boys than Fauntleroy blouses and collars. Boys differed greatly as to the neckwear that might be worn with Eton collars. We see bows in the 1880s. Some were large floppy bows making it difficult to determine just what kind of collar was being worn. A good example here is MC Agnew. Another American boy wears an Eton collar and floppy bow. We can not tell, however, if the portrait was taken in the late-1880s or the early-90s. We also see boys not wearing neckwear with Eton collars.
We note many portraits of American boys wearing Eton collasrs in the 1890s. We see a variety of collars worn during the decade, but it wa one of the popular collar styles. While a boy's first suit might be a Fauntleroy suit, many boys next wore sack suits with Eton collars. It was a popular style, primarily for school-age boys. This includes boys into their early teens. There seems to have been a social-class factor involved here. Most of the Eton collars we have noted were worn by boys that seem to come from well-to-do or at least families in comfortable circumstances. They do not appear to have been as prevalent as in England, but we see a good many boys wearing them. They were worn with a variety of suits. We note them work with both Norfolk suits and standard sack suits. A good example is Floyd Stubbs. The effort to assess available portraits is somewhat complicated by the fact that they were often but not always worn with floppy bows of different sizes. Thus we can often not be completely sure that they were classic Eton collars with pointed tips. We can tell thany many were, but not all. We also note large collars shaped like Eton collars, but were not the heavily starched Eton collars that stood up. A good example is the collars worn by the Pritchrd brothers.
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