Figure 1.-- This Ambrotype shows an unidentified boy wearing a collar-buttoning suit jacket. His stock is done with what looks like a patterned ribbon. As it is an Ambro, it would have been dated about 1855-63. It is difficult to see, but he seems to have a good sized white collar.

We note that the stock is usually depictd as black. This depiction is so pronounced that we assumed that all stocks were black. And black was a popular color for men and boys duing the Victorian era. We are not sure, however, just how common black actully was. It does appear to be the most common color. We are not entirely sure when black stocks became standard. We think it was the early-19th century, but that needs to be confirmed. Black was not, hoever, he only color for srock,White stocks might still be worn for formal occassions. We note quite a number of boys wearing stocks that were not black. Some were different colors. We have no idea at this time just what colors were used in stocks. And we also see stocks done in a variety of patterns. We do not know at this time if th colored or pattern stocks were more common for boys than men. And we are unsure if the colored and black stocks varied in popularity over time. This is difficult to asess because photography appeared only in the last two decades in which stocks were worn.

Created: 8:42 AM 5/9/2012
Last updated: 6:20 PM 5/9/2012