Figure 1.--This large-sized cabinet card was sent as a New Years Card to friends. Tere ia a message ob the back showing who sent it, but the writing is very difficult to read. The family name looks something like Reinard. They look to us to be a comfortable working-class family. The portait sems to have been taken by an itinerate photograoher just outside their front door. The home eems like more of a working-class than a middle-class home. Ckick on the image if you think to think you can make out the writing.

This large-sized cabinet card was sent as a New Years Card to friends. Thhre ia a message on the back showing who sent it, but the writing is very difficult to read. The family name looks something like Rainard. (Click on the imge if you want to try to figure out thewriting." They look to us to be a comfortable working-class family. The portait sems to have been taken by an itinerate photograoher just outside their front door. The home eems like more of a working-class than a middle-class home. The portrait show mother sith three children, two girls and a boy. They look to be about 5-13 years old. Apparently dad was at work. The girls wear matching velvet dresses with embroidered trim and hood-like bonnets. The boy wears a Norgolk suit with a Eton collar and knicker pants. It blooks like a flannel suit. Note the matching peaked cap. English boys at the time wore both knee pants and knickers. We see younger boys wearing short pants in the 1910s, but boys of the age of the boy here were more likely to wear knickers. All three children wear dark long stockings. A British reader writes, "The photograph was sent to family friends who had a pub called ' The Cook and Pye '. The Rainard adults spent many evenings there because they describe them of glorious memory. We will never know if both families had children who were also friends. The joyful greetings could have related to a bottled beer called OBJ it was brewed by Dutton's and the initials meant Oh be Joyful."

Created: 11:17 AM 11/12/2019
Last updated: 12:45 PM 11/15/2019