Figure 1.--This image is one of a few that do not seem to connect to well to the rest of the series. It is undated, but it seems from early images of him that the boy in this image is William Robinson, the older brother. He looks to be about 11 here, so the image probably dates to about 1875. Strangely there is no sign of Edward in this picture |
The Robinsons were a substantial middle-class family. The photographs in the album or not a collection of formal studio portraits. Actually within the limits of the photography of the day, These photographs disprove the popular image of an austere and loveless Victorian family life. The photograhs were taken by the eldest son of the Reverend Robinson. He and his wife had two sons and threee older daughters. The photographs suggest a tightly-knit, affectionate family. The family appears to have remained close to family patriarch--the Rev. Robinson.
we were not sure at first just who the various family members were. Our contributor tells us. "Now - things get very confused here, but I think I have worked out who is who in the Robinson family. I have looked over all the photos in the album and how they relate to each other and it appears the old man, the Rev Robinson, could indeed be the father! The younger man appears in so few photos, and he is in very few of family groups. The biggest giveaway is that there is one of a lady of comperable age to the old man and William has written 'Mamma' below it. I have a found the man who I thought was the father is actually an older brother. His name is Rev. Thomas Robinson MA, Vicar of Chart Sutton. Sorry - the pages may need some changing. There is no 'grandfather' - the old man, the vicar, is their father. The one I thought was a father is their brother. Likewise, the woman I thought was their mother is actually an older sister (I think it is Celeste).
I have enclosed a list below in which I have drawn out what I believe is the family tree - this is as close as we will get with all the names based on the photographs. Thomas Robinson MA married ? (mother) Children : T(homas?) Robinson (linked to Miss Clara Leggett) - it was he I THOUGHT was the father Emma Robinson (marries W C Hughes and they have a baby son) - I have some pictures of the unnamed son too. The daughters are: Fanny Robinson, Susan Robinson, and Celeste Robinson. I am not sure about the order of the four girls but all the girls are older than the two youngest boys and younger than the eldest son, though one girl could possibly be slighter older than the eldest son - she is ironically certainly old enough to be Edward's mother! The two younger boys are: William C H Robinson and Edward M Robinson.
The Robinsons were a substantial middle-class family. We do not know, however, just what the father did for a living. The clothing certainly suggests that they were certainly comfortablhy fixed.
Here we see almost the complete Robinson family, the family of the eldest son of the Rev Robinson. It is likely the older looking woman on the right is his mother). The three young women in this image are almost definitely William's older sisters (they are named by initials in the album, but it is difficult to tell who they are from this image). One can only guess why Edward - probably about 6 when this image was taken - is not present. Was he at the village school? Could he have been ill at the time? It is certainly unusual that his brother, all his sisters and his parents would be in this image but he would not. There is also a possibility that as this image predates the gift of the album to William by his Aunt Esther by several years that Edward was indeed nearby - possibly playing in the gardens - and this was a practise shot for the full family. Having been set aside or discarded, William might have made use of it in this album some years later. This is all conjectural, but certainly they are all possible answers.
The family appears to have remained close to family patriarch--the Rev. Robinson. The photograph was taken at Chart Sutton Vicarage. We are not sure, but it seems that the family lived nearby the photographs all seem to be taken there.
The photograph here shows the warmth of this nuclear family unit overcoming the confines of Victorian formality. The photographs in the album or not a collection of formal studio portraits. Actually within the limits of the photography of the day, These photographs disprove the popular image of an austere and loveless Victorian family life. The photograhs were taken by the eldest son of the Reverend Robinson. He and his wife had two sons and threee older daughters. The photographs suggest a tightly-knit, affectionate family.
William is wearing the unusual smoking type of cap we have looked at earlier in this series (this is not as rare as we may have previously thought - rare Victorian film footage which has just been restored and shown on British television at the time of constructing this page has shown boys of this age wearing the same type of cap). The cap appears to match his suit - possibly a light brown? - which has 2 rows of buttons down the front and buttonholes in both lapels. The jacket also buttons a long way across the front. He is wearing a shirt and tie, as would be expected. He also has on a pair of boots. It is also interesting to see, in spite of the lack of colour both of the image and probably of the garments themselves, just how decorative and ornate the womens' clothing is.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Robinson family page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Essays]
[Girls]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossary]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]