Fogure 1.--This CDV portrait shows an unidentified girl and her two little brithers. The studio was Fuller in Albert Lea, Minnesota. Note the boys fancy hairdos. The younger boy has a a top curl brought down to his forehead/ The other boy has somev kiknd of Napoleonic forehead lock. The girl has a center part with back ringlets. The portrair is undated, but we believe it was taken in the 1870s.

The 1870s was a transition decade in terms of boys' hair styles. We see American boys atvmid-century commonly wearing their hair down to their ears and often covering a good bit of their ears. Here we are not talking about pre-school boys who might still have their curls, in some cases ringlet curls. We are talking about fully school age boys and teenagers. This was not a child's cut. Adult men also wore their hair long. This continued in the 1860s, although we see more boys with short cuts. We note quite a few boys in the 1860s with longish hair. Here we mean hair down to the ears, but mostly above the shoulders. The basic trend was for shorter hair. We still see some boys with longish hair in the 1870s, mostly at the beginning of the decade. This was the situstion in the 1870s, but as the decade progressed, we see fewer and fewer boys with longer cuts. We see more and more boys with modern-looking short cuts. By the end of the decade most boys had short hair. The trend for shorter hair was not as pronounced for pre-school boys. Some younger boys might have curls or otherv fancy styles like a top curl or hair combed down on the fore head. Short hair was the standard. We see a few boys with cropped hair, but this was not very common. Most boys had hair long enough to comb with a side part. Some boys had bangs. And we see some unusual styles such as top curls or knots. Some boys had ringlet curls, but it was not as common as in the 1880s when the Little Lord Fauntleroy craze burt in hapless boys. While the lengths of the cuts vsried, one aspect did not change--the part. Boys tended to have side parts and and girls center parts. This was not an absolute matter, but it was very common convention. It is thus becomes an especially valuable in assessing the gender of younger children. Pre-school boys look much like girls. Only by school age do the more pronounced gender appearance differebces become pronounced. This it is birtyally impossible to identify boys wearing dressesm especially as some lomg or vlongish hair. It shpikd be stressed rgar not all girls had long hair. Thanks to CDVs and cainet cards we have a huge photographic record. Unfortunately, mom and and dad often neglected to write the names of the children on the back. Unlike Dags and Ambros, there are quite a numner of portraits with the children iudentified. Unforrtunately most do not. But the parts offere one of the few ways of determining gender with a fair degree of actuaracy.

Length

The 1870s was a transition decade in terms of boys' hair styles. We see American boys atvmid-century commonly wearing their hair down to their ears and often covering a good bit of their ears. Here we are not talking about pre-school boys who might still have their curls, in some cases ringlet curls. We are talking about fully school age boys and teenagers. This was not a child's cut. Adult men also wore their hair long. This continued in the 1860s, although we see more boys with short cuts. We note quite a few boys in the 1860s with longish hair. Here we mean hair down to the ears, but mostly above the shoulders. The basic trend was for shorter hair. We still see some boys with longish hair in the 1870s, mostly at the beginning of the decade. This was the situstion in the 1870s, but as the decade progressed, we see fewer and fewer boys with longer cuts. We see more and more boys with modern-looking short cuts. By the end of the decade most boys had mostly short hair.

Styles

The trend for shorter hair was not as pronounced for pre-school boys. Some younger boys might have curls or otherv fancy styles like a top curl or hair combed down on the fore head. Short hair was the standard. We see a few boys with cropped hair, but this was not very common. Most boys had hair long enough to comb with a side part. Some boys had bangs. And we see some unusual styles such as top curls or knots. Here we see a good example (figure 1). Both boys have top knots or curls. Note big sisters center part. Some boys had ringlet curls, but it was not as common as in the 1880s when the Little Lord Fauntleroy craze burt in hapless boys.

Ages

Parts

While the lengths of the cuts vsried, one aspect did not change--the part. Boys tended to have side parts and and girls center parts. This was not an absolute matter, but it was very common convention. It is thus becomes an especially valuable in assessing the gender of younger children. Pre-school boys look much like girls. Only by school age do the more pronounced gender appearance differebces become pronounced. This it is birtyally impossible to identify boys wearing dressesm especially as some lomg or vlongish hair. It should be stressed that not all girls had long hair. Thanks to CDVs and cainet cards we have a huge photographic record. Unfortunately, mom and and dad often neglected to write the names of the children on the back. Unlike Dags and Ambros, there are quite a numner of portraits with the children iudentified. Unforrtunately most do not. But the parts offere one of the few ways of determining gender with a fair degree of actuaracy.

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Created: 3:26 AM 10/14/2009
Last edited: 2:11 AM 3/22/2020