Figure 1.--This is a wonderful sixth plate daguerreotype of a boy and girl who are probably siblings. The case is marked "Meade Bros, Albany NY." We think this is a tooled leather cover rather than gutta percha cover. This and the children's clothing suggest that it is an 1840s Dag. Thedealer suggested about 1850. on the cover. We always appreciate reader's insights on the dating here. Click on the image to see the case cover.

Boys and girls were dressed very differently in the 1840s. The only exception was younger boys who were dressed like their sisters. Girls mostly wore dresses, commonly with long white pantalettes. There was not a lot of diversity--the dress was the standard garment. But of course there was great diversity in stress styles. Women wore long dresses. Girls wore dresses with shorter hems, the younger the girl, the shorter the hem could be. There was a reluctance to actually exposed legs, even for children. Thus panatalettes were a very important clothing item for girls and younger boys. Some pantalettes were fancy with lace and frills. Others were very plain. We don't see girls wearing blouses and skirts, at least for the 1840s portatits we have found so far. Many pre-school boys wore dresses like their sisters. Breaching usually occurred by about 4 years of age, but some 5-year olds were still not breached. Older boys wore pants. Some of the pants were white, looking rather like pantalettes/drawers. We also see younger school-age boys wearing tunics. Skeleton suits had largely disappeared, but we still see high-waisted styles. Jackets included cut-away and collar-buttoning styles.

Created: 8:10 PM 4/18/2025
Last updated: 8:10 PM 4/18/2025