Figure 1.--We note an unidentified Parisian father and young son. The father looks to be prosperous, either a civil servant or professional. They live in a nice house. We see them both inside and in the back garden. The boy wears a sailor suit. He has a button-up sailor jacket and bloomer knickers. I'm not sure about the color. The V-collar is done in contrasting white. He looks to be about 7-8 years old. He looks to be wearing a flat cap with the suit. He has ankle socks and high-top shoes. Click on the image to see the two in the garden.

We note an unidentified Parisian father and young son. The father looks to be prosperous, either a civil servant or professional. They live in a nice house. We see them both inside and in the back garden. Here they are in the parlor looking at a book together (figure 1). The boy wears a sailor suit. He has a button-up sailor jacket. This was proibably his best suit. Notice the lanyard. Surely there mist be a brass whistle on it. The boy wears bloomer knickers with his suit. Noth knee pants and bloomer knickers were common. I'm not sure about the color. The V-collar is done in contrasting white. He looks to be about 7-8 years old. He looks to be wearing a flat cap with the suit. He has ankle socks and high-top shoes. Emulsion speeds in thw 19th century were so slow that individuals had to sit very still for their portraits. This made it difficult for personalitis and relationships to come out--alothough the pose and hand positions provide clues. With the development of amateur photography and the snap shot in the 20th century, we get more intimate view of families. A reader writes, "They seem a very close family. The father was very proud of his son. He certainly liked having him with him." And our reader is quite right. It just snaps right out at you whrn you view these two images.

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Counter set: 2:46 AM 5/26/2008
Last updated: 4:07 PM 5/26/2008