Figure 1.--This image is undated, but we believe that it was taken in the late 1860s or early 70s. Notice the base of the stand behind the boy that helped to steady him for the portrait. Image courtesy of the RG collection.
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Figure 1.--This image is undated, but we believe that it was taken in the late 1860s or early 70s. Notice the base of the stand behind the boy that helped to steady him for the portrait. Image courtesy of the RG collection. |
This American portrait of an unidentified child was probably taken in the 1860s, although we can not rule out the 1870s. .
This American portrait of an unidentified child was probably taken in the 1860s, although we can not rule out the 1870s. Notice the base of the stand behind the boy that helped to steady him for the portrait. This was almost a necessity with the slow film speeds of the 1860s. Also the studio background looks rather like the 1860s.
The photographic studio was the Manchesten Bros., in Providence, Rhode Island.
The child is unidentified. There is no way to be sure, but the child's face He looks to be about 3-4 years old. We believe the child may be a boy. His face looks like a boy. The dress is rather plain, but in the 1860s there were often not significant differeces between the dresses worn by boys and girls in he 1860s. There were, however, some dfinite boyish touvhes here, such as the front buttoning jacket-like top of the dress. The clothes and hair style suggest an affluent family.
The child is pictured with a book, but surely he is not old enough to read yet. We note that a book was a more common prop for a boy than girl.
The boy wears riglet curls. One ringlet in particular is quite long. Not all the ringletsare done into tight curls. There is a small colored hair bow. It looks like thegenerally small bows used forboys, but he 860s were before girlsbegan wearing large hair bows.
The child wears what looks like a velvet dress. It may not be black, but a dark blue or burgandy. There is a small collar, a feature more common on boys' than girls' dresses. There isno bow, The dress appears to have a jacket like upper part which has front buttons. Both the jacket and skirt hem are scallopd. The jacket buttons are repeated on the skirt. Contrasing with the black dress are white long stockings.
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