Figure 1.--This unidentified little American boy in a cabinet card portrait wears a flouncy lace collar. We can't see much more of what he is wearing. It looks like it may be a dress. He has short hair with a center part. The portrait is undated, but the mount style suggests the 1890s to us. He looks to be about 3 years old. The center part was primarily a girls' style, but by he end of the century we see some boys with center parts, at first younger boys like the one here. Eventually teenagers began adopting these center parts, but only a minority The studio was B. F.? Devinney in Moberly, Missouri.

Center hair parts were the basic hair part convention for girls throughout the 19th century. This is useful in establishing gender in old photographs when younger boys and girls were dressed alike. This was not an absolute convention, but it was very common in the 19th century, and perhaps the best single gender indicator. We do not have much information on the early-19th century. We know much more about the second half of the 19t-century because of the development of photography. Unlike Europe, we have quite an extensive archive beginning almost immediately after the development of photography in France. A rare exception was younger boys with hair done in ringlet curls. The center part helped to divide the hair with which to form ringlets. Older boys with center parts were much less common, at least until the end of the decade. This seems to have changed at the end of the century. We see some boys with shirt hair parted in the middle. We note younger boys with fashionable center parts at the end of the century in the 1890s. And we have found some older boys with these center parts, but not very many. Virtually all of the 19th century examples We have found date to the 1890s. We are still working out the age trends in the 1890s when we se most of the center-part boy portraits. We have not yet, however, found many actually dated examples. So far the examples we have found are portraits for which we have had to roughly estimate estimate the date. Nor are we sure about year trends within the decade.

The 1800s

Center hair parts were the basic hair part convention for girls throughout the 19th century. This is useful in establishing gender in old photographs when younger boys and girls were dressed alike. This was not an absolute convention, but it was very common in the 19th century, and perhaps the best single gender indicator. We do not have much information on the early-19th century.

The 1840

We know much more about the second half of the 19th-century, actually beginning in the 1840s, because of the development of photography. We begin to see Daguerreotypes in the early-1840s. Unlike Europe, we have quite an extensive archive beginning almost immediately after the development of photography in France.

The 1880s

There was a major change with center parts in the 1880s. A rare exception to the girl center part convention was the younger boys with hair done in ringlet curls. This became particularly popular in the 1880s as part of the Fauntleroy craze. This became very common in the mid-80s as part of the Fauntleroy craze. The center part helped to divide the hair with which to form ringlets. This is not really apparent because Fauntleroy curls were often done with front bangs. So you can't see the hair on the crown is done with a center part. There were also Fauntleroy ringlets done with center parts coming all the way to the forehead. We see very few school age boys, however, with regular hair who have center parts.

The 1890s

Older boys with center hair parts were much less common, at least until the 1890s This seems to have changed at the end of the century. We see some boys with short hair parted in the middle. We note younger boys with fashionable center parts at the end of the century in the 1890s. And we have found some older boys with these center parts, but not very many. Virtually all of the 19th century examples we have found date to the 1890s. We are still working out the age trends in the 1890s when we see most of the center-part boy portraits. We have not yet, however, found many actual dated examples. So far the examples we have found are portraits for which we have had to roughly estimate estimate the date. Nor are we sure about year trends within the decade. Most of the portraits we have fond with center parts are pre-teen boys. We think teenagers by the end of the decade may have begun wearing center parts, but we have not yet been able to confirm this. The center parts by the turn-of the century had become seen as very stylish. And while at first just seen with little boys we see even older teens experimenting with these center parts by the turn-of-the century.

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