Canadian World War I Family (1918)


Figure 1.--Here we see an English-speaking Toronto family in 1918. The father may be about to leave for France. We are somewhat confusd by the portrait. The father may be about to leave for France. We are not sure just what the scene is. It rather hs a look of a weding scene, although the lady is not dressed in white.

Here we see an English-speaking Toronto family in 1918. We are somewhat confusd by the portrait. The father may be about to leave for France. We are not sure just what the scene is. It rather hs a look of a weding scene, although the lady is not dressed in white. Perhaps it was an informal War wedding. But then who are the boys and in contrast to the adults, they are dressed quite formally. They do seem to be the couple's children. But perhas they are ring bearers and ushers. We just do not know. The only thing we are sure about is that the portrait was taken in 1918. We believe the portrait was taken in Toranto, but we are not sure. A reader writes, "Are the two boys at either end wearing a sort of latter-day Faunterloy Suits? The elaborate lace collars suggest this, don't they?" Well we do see Fantleroy suits in the 1910s, although the style was much less common. That is one reason I think this may be a wedding rather thn family scene. And it looks to be like the younger boys are wearing kilt outfits rather than Fauntleroy suits. Hopefully some HBC readers will have some insights here. A British reader writes, "A couple of suggestions, but I have to make them without contextual knowledge of their significance at the time in Canada. Firstly ... maybe a wedding anniversary? Secondly - Mothering Sunday or the lady's birthday? I like the idea of the husband splashing out on a studio portrait as a present before he left for the Front - but it's just guesswork!"






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Created: 5:36 PM 9/10/2006
Last updated: 5:56 PM 9/11/2006