Figure 1.-- This fascinating Boston studio portrait meant to recreate a scene in the home parlor. This is very rare in the 19th century photographic record. Most studio portraits are fairly stiff images of the subjects simply facing the camera. Here the children are meant to display how an eening at home may have been spent. Just how realistic the representaion is we ae unsure, but suspect it may suggest what may have taken place in a formal Victorian family parlor. The older boy is playing a violin. The younger children are dancing. There are three unidentified children aged about 3-9 years of age.

This fascinating Boston studio portrait meant to recreate a scene in the home parlor. This is very rare in the 19th century photographic record. Most studio portraits are fairly stiff images of the subjects simply facing the camera. Here the children are meant to display how an eening at home may have been spent. Just how realistic the representaion is we ae unsure, but suspect it may suggest what may have taken place in a formal Victorian family parlor. The older boy is playing a violin. The younger children are dancing. There are three unidentified children aged about 3-9 years of age. The look to be two boys and a girl, but we suspect tht they are actually three brothers. The older boy wears an Eton collar and knee pants suit. The jacket is a little unusual, it seems to have a diagonal cut which we do not usually see in jackets at the time. We notice this diagonal cut more on tunics. His younger brother has long hair and wears a velvet suit. Their younger sibling wear a kilt suit rather than a dress whch is why we think the child is a boy. Note the lace trim. The portrait is undated, but the medals the studio was awarded date up to 1876. This suggests the portrait was taken in the late-70s or early-80s.

Created: 5:02 AM 7/27/2008
Last updated: 5:02 AM 7/27/2008