Breeching in America: Photographic Evidence


Figure 1.--Family portrais are one of the best sources of information on breeching. Unfortunsately the children are often not identified. This potrait was taken by the Herbert studio in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, probably in the early 1910s. It was printed as a postcard. Unfortunately the children are not identified.

There are several useful sources of information on breeching. The most useful are family correspondence and published accounts from family members. These are difficult to find. Individuals often do not recall their early childhood and thus such events, no matter how important at the time, are often not remembered. We have primarily relied on the photographic record for HBC. Portraits of boys in skirted outfits are common and useful, but they do not tell us when a boy was actually breeched. Sone of the most useful images are family portraits. The ages of the boys in skirted outfits and pants can help determine the approximate age of breeching for that particular family. A good example is the Drowne boys in the 1870s. The problem with using the photographic record, however, is that the children are often not identified. Thus in many cases we do not know who the children in skirted garments are.









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Created: 2:21 AM 1/12/2008
Last updated: 6:44 PM 4/15/2008