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We have much more information by the mid-19th century about fashion and hair styles because of the development of photography. A substantial number of photographic portraits become available for the first time in the 1840s, while small by later standards, the number of available images was a quantum leap from the number of portraits painted in previous decades. The number of images means that we have a much wider range of social backgrounds depicted. Early Daguerreotypes were not cheap, but they were only a fraction of the cost of a painted portrait. That means that they were within the price range of the middle-class as well as some working=class families. Many 1830s styles carried over into the 40s. Daguerreotypes show that hair styles by mid-century had become longer, often worn to or even over the ears. We think that this was a chronological trend, but it is possible that social class was a factor. Less well to do parents might not be a careful with hair grooming. This is something that we need to work out. The problem here is that most Dags are undated and we find it difficult to distinguish between 1840s and 50s Dags. We have a control for the 1850s in that Ambrotypes were mostly taken in that decade or the early-60s. Virtually all 1840s photographs are Dags. Thus if we do not see a certain style in Ambros, it probably was an 1840s or early-1850s Dag. We would be interested in input from any reader who can help us distinguish between 1840s and 50s Dags. Any reader who has insights on dating Dags would be of great assistance to HBC. A Dag which we have a good handle on is unidentified American boy about 1847. We also note Clarence E. Summer about the same time. And at the same time we see some girls with short hair. Thus identifying the gender of younger children in the 1840s Daguerreotypes can be quite difficult. We note an unidentified American child who we think was photographed in the 1840s. We might have thought the child was a boy, but the center part suggests a girl. We note a nattily dressed young teenager with long hair. Another probable 1840s Dag is a family portrait, a young mother and her two children who look to be about 6-10 years old. We think it my be a 1840s Dag, because we do not see these hair styles to any extent in Ambros. We would be very interested in reader input. We do not post these images here because we have definitely dated them, but we think that they are probably 1840s images and hope more information can be acquired to more definitely date them. Another indicator is gold rings. Thanks to the California Gold Rush (1849), America's stock of gold increased. And we note a lot more children with gold rings in the 50s than the 40s. Vests (waistcoats) are another indicator. Virtually all vests are in contrasting colors to the jacket--often very loud patterns. In the 1850s, we begin to see more muted vests. And at lest by the late-50s the vests began to match the jackets. Almost all vests match the jackets in the 60s.
We have much more information by the mid-19th century about fashion and hair styles because of the development of photography. A substantial number of photographic portraits become available for the first time in the 1840s, while small by later standards, the number of available images was a quantum leap from the number of portraits painted in previous decades. The number of images means that we have a much wider range of social backgrounds depicted. Early Daguerreotypes were not cheap, but they were only a fraction of the cost of a painted portrait. That means that they were within the price range of the middle-class as well as some working-class families.
Many 1830s styles carried over into the 40s. Daguerreotypes show that hair styles by mid-century had become longer, often worn to or even over the ears. We think that this was a chronological trend, but it is possible that social class was a factor. Less well to do parents might not be a careful with hair grooming. This is something that we need to work out.
The problem here is that most Dags ar undated and we find it difficult to distinguish between 1840s and 50s Dags. We have a control for the 1850s in that Ambrotypes were mostly taken in that decade or the early-60s. Virtually all 1840s photographs are Dags. Thus if we do not see a certain style in Ambros, it probably was an 1840s or early-1850s Dag. We would be interested in input from any reader who can help us distinguish between 1840s and 50s Dags. Any reader who has insights on dating Dags would be of great assistance to HBC.
Here are some notable styles observable in the 1840s. We would be very interested in reader input. We do not post these images here because we have definitely dated them, but we think that they are probably 1840s images and hope more information can be acquired to more definitely date them.
We note hair styles commonly extending to the ears. It is one of the mot notable style observable in the 1840s. We are nor sure, however, to what extent this differed from the 1830s. The extent of the ear coverage varied. A good example is unidentified American boy about 1847. Almost all of his ears are covered. We also note Clarence E. Summer about the same time.
And at the same time we see some girls with short hair.
Boys generally had side parts and girls center parts. While this was generally true for older school age children. Another probable 1840s Dag is a family portrait, a young mother and her two children who look to be about 6-10 years old. We think it my be a 1840s Dag, because we do not see these hair styles to any extent in Ambros. We also note a nattily dressed young teenager with a side par, even with hair covering his ears. Parts were more varied for younger children. Here we do see boys with center parts. Thus identifying the gender of younger children in the 1840s Daguerreotypes can be quite difficult. We note an unidentified American child who we think was photographed in the 1840s. We might have thought the child was a boy, but the center part suggests a girl.
We see both girls and women with ringlets in the 1840s. We are not yet sure if the style was increasing in popularity during the decade, but it was a notable style. We also notice younger boys with ringlets. Again we are not sure if his was a style hast was increasing or decreasing in popularity. This is difficult to assess of course because there was no 1830s photography and as a result we have so few images to compare with the 40s. We note far more images of boys with ringlet curls in the second half of he19h century. It looks like it was becoming more popular, but of course with growing prosperity. American families were far more capable of affording fancy clothes as well as hairstyles, but the prosperity also mean a larger photographic record meaning we have many more portraits.
Another indicator is gold rings. Thanks to the California Gold Rush (1849), America's stock of gold increased. And we note a lot more children with gold rings in the 50s than the 40s. Vests (waistcoats) are another indicator. Virtually all vests are in contrasting colors to the jacket--often very loud patterns. In the 1850s, we begin to see more muted vests. And at lest by the late-50s the vests begin to match the jackets. Almost all vests match the jackets in the 60s.
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