Figure 1.--This boy was photographed with long hair and a white dress. The photograph, however, is undated.

We do not know this boy's name. He appears to be an American boy, probably from New York. The photogrphs of this boy are undated. They may be from the 1900s, but there are sme indication that they are earlier. We are, however, unsure about this. The actual photographs look earlier. Photo measures approximately 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches. His wide-brimmed sailor hat looks more like a style worn earlier. It is a dark colored straw hat with a flat top. He wears a white dress in one photograph and long pants in others. HBC is not sure what to make of these photographs. His hair is long, but uncurled. The hair in the pants photos are longer than in the dress photo. So I guess they were not taken when he was breeched. We ar not sure quite what to make of the two photographs of him in pants. He eems rather young to be wearing long trousers. White trousers in themselves re rather unusual. Also his jacket and shirt do not fit well. Also posing the photograph on an outdoors step is unusual.

Identity

We do not know this boy's name.

Location

He appears to be an American boy. There is, however, no photogrpher identified on the photographs to how where the photographs were taken. The dealer handling the photos reports, "Several photos (not listed for auction yet) show their house and a vacation home that look like they're in upstate New York."

Chronology

The photogrphs of this boy are undated. We had thought that they might be from the 1900s, in part because the photographs appear to be snap hots rather than studio portraits. We are, however, unsure about this. The actual photographs look earlier. Photo measures approximately 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches. The dealer tells HBC, "We don't know the name of the child. The .only thing we could tell from the lot of photos are that they appear to be from the 1880s or 1890s (dress, furnishings, etc.)."

Figure 2.--The boy here looks very slopily dresed with ill-fiting clothes an his cap not on right. We do not understand this. Click on the image for another view.

Clothing

His wide-brimmed sailor hat looks more like a style worn earlier. It is a dark colored straw hat with a flat top. He wears a white dress in one photograph and long pants in others. The white dress is plain and we are unable to date the dress. He seems rather young to be wearing long trousers. White trousers in themselves are rather unusual. Also his jacket and shirt do not fit well.

Hair

His hair is long, but uncurled.

Assessment

This certainly looks like photographs of a boy before and after he is breeched. HBC is, however, not sure what to make of these photographs. The hair in the pants photos are longer than in the dress photo. So we do not believe they were not taken when he was breeched. We are not sure quite what to make of the two photographs of him in pants. The pants photo are confusing. He looks rather slopily dressed in ill fitting clothes, a strange choice for photograph. Also posing the photograph on an outdoors step is unusual. A HBC reader peculates, "Could these be a Hollywood or publicity photo?" HBC believes that the photos appear to update Hollywood and even the movies if they are from the 1880s or 90s. However they do look like they could be ublicity shots--perhaps for a stage play. Another reader speculates, "Or maybe he is playing dress up with his older brothers clothes. Maybe this is a girl playing dress up in her brother clothes. Lots of possibilities."

Created: April 29, 2002
Last updated: April 30, 2002