Figure 1.-- We see this image appearin in internet postings, but just the image with no actual information. With vitage clothing deails about who wore it and when sare especially imprtant. Gere we can only guess. We belive the garment was American or British, probably dating to the 1850s. We are not sure how to describe the matching cap. The cut-away jacket is important in our assessment. Note the button-on blouse has no collar and that the jacket sleeves are not full length and are vert full cut. The pants are near full length, but have the knee pants ornamental buttons. The suit was worn wih pantalettes. It would have been worn by a pre-school boy, probably about 4-years old.

The 19th century can be divided into two periods. The early 19th century is the Regency Era, This includes the Empire er in France (1800-15). The mid- and later-19th century is the Victorian Era. The period which includes the latter part of George III's reign and the reigns of his sons George IV and William IV, is sometimes regarded as the Regency era (1795-1837). The actual Regency ended with the death of George II (1820), but the longer periood until the the advent of Queen Victoria is more generally seenm as the Regency. It was marked by by distinctive trends in British architecture, literature, fashions, politics, and culture. This includes Kate Greenaway fashions. And the end of the Regeny Era almost precisely marks the advent of photography. The Regency Era is much of the Early Republic/Ante-bellum Era in America and powerfully influenced American fashion. Thus vintage clothing from the Regency is particularly valuable as photography which escalated our knowledge of fashion still did not exist. The Victorian period begins with the advent of Queen Victoria (1837). Victorian fashions were very important, espcially because the Victorians invented the mass production of clothing, significnyky reducung costs for the general public. We still do not have a lot of vintage items from the mid-19th century. Most of the vintage images we have archived on HBC come from the late-19th century. While we have few items from the early and mid 19th century, we have been able to archive quite a few items from the late-19th century. The time ffactor is one reason. Of course Regency and Victorian are British era, but Brotin had as poewerful inffluence on America fashions during the 19th century. Most of our vintage clothing items are American. We think the growing American population and wealth mean more items were being saved. Generally speaking, affluent families were more likely ro put away and treasure childhood clothing. Another factor is the mass production of ready-made clothing. Again this meant there were larger quantities of clothing being made, meaning a few items were more likely to survive.

Created: 8:25 PM 12/22/2025
Last updated: 8:25 PM 12/22/2025