Figure 1.--Unfortunately we do not know who this boy is. We know nothing about this American boy except that he was photographed in ????. We do have two portraits of him at different ages. In the image here he looks about 4 years old. He has tightly rolled ringlet curls. Image courtesy of the RG collection.

Unfortunately we do not know who the boy here is (figure 1). We know nothing about this American boy except that he was photographed in ????. We do have two portraits of him at different ages. He looks about 4 yeats old in the first portrait and wears tightly done ringlet curls. He looks 6-7 years old in the second portrait and has long wavy curls.. This is a little older than most boys we have noted with hair bows. In both he is wearing a fancy blouse, but other clothing items are different. Both hair bows are white and prominently placed. The portraits are undated, but we would guess were taken in the 1900s.

The Boy

Unfortunately we do not know who the boy here is. We know nothing about this boy except that he was American. The clothes and fany hair styling suggest that he came from a well-to-do family. We might guess that his mother was a very conscious lady who fauned over her son, perhaps an only child. At least all we have are two individual portraits. In the second portrait he looks old enough to begin school. But with hair like this, we doubt if he did. Perhaps the family was wealthy enough to afford a tutor.

Chronology

The portraits are undated, but we would guess were taken in the 1900s. The style of the mount and the low-cut oxford shoes the boy wears in the second portrait suggest gto us that the portraits were taken after the turn of the 20th century.

Location

The photographer's identity on the cabinent cards tells us that he was photographed in ????.

First Portrait

We do have two portraits of this at different ages. He looks about 4 yeats old in the first portrait and wears tightly done ringlet curls, but they are only moderately long (figure 1). They do not reach his shoulders. In both he is wearing a fancy blouse, but other clothing items are different. Both hair bows are white and prominently placed. Here he has his hair bow tied into one of the ringlets at the top of his head. There is a side part. He has a white Fauntleroy blouse with eyelet lace. He wears the blouse with a elegant white floppy bow. He also wears white kneepants with white long stockings. The only item which is not white are his blavk patent leather three strap shoes.

Second Portrait

The unidentified boy ooks 6-7 years old in the second portrait and has long wavy curls rather than tight righlets. His haie is quite a bit konger, falling to his shoulders. This is a little older than most boys we have noted with hair bows, but not by any means the oldest. He wears a fancy white blouse, but not as fancy as the Fauntleroy blouse he wore when younger. The collar is a lottle unusual with a fancy blouse. It was an Eton collar, probably a detachable collar. Rather than a large floppy bow, he wears a small black bow. His pants are bloomer knickers rather like the ones commonly worn with tunics. He wearrs dark, probably black long sockings and low-cut oxford shoes.

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Created: 1:18 AM 6/9/2006
Last updated: 1:18 AM 6/9/2006