Figure 1.--Here we see a CDV portrait showing two brothers in identical sailor suits. The younger boy has his hair done in ringlets with something on top. Mother has added modest Eton collars apparently because she did not think sailor styles were formal enough. Sailor styles were actually a comfortable style for boys in an age of satorial overkill. A reader provides another possible explanation. "There is another possible reason, that maybe mother did not have a shield/dickey to go with the sailor suit. I noticed from the catalog collection on sailor suits that not all sailor suits came with the shield and as such, it is possible that thrifty mothers chose to use a blouse rather than pay for a shield." One point here, the boys are not necesarily wearing Eton blouses. The boys could be wearing detachable Eton collars. It is difficuklt to tell, altough the younger boy ceratinly looks like he has a detachedable Eton collar. Notice the striped pants, a popular 1870s style that carried over to the early-80s. This portraiut is undated. We suspect that it was probably taken about 1880. in the late-1870s or early-80s. The boys look to be about 4-7 years old. The studio was operated by a rare lady photographer--Mrs. Williams of Wolverhampton.

Here we see a CDV portrait showing two brothers in identical sailor suits. The younger boy has his hair done in ringlets with something on top. Mother has added modest Eton collars apparently because she did not think sailor styles were formal enough. Sailor styles were actually a comfortable style for boys in an age of sartorial overkill. A reader provides another possible explanation. "There is another possible reason, that maybe mother did not have a shield/dickey to go with the sailor suit. We noticed from the catalog collection on sailor suits that not all sailor suits came with the shield and as such, it is possible that thrifty mothers chose to use a blouse rather than pay for a shield." One point here, the boys are not necessarily wearing Eton blouses. The boys could be wearing detachable Eton collars. It is difficult to tell, although the younger boy certainly looks like he has a detachable Eton collar. We notice the striped pants, a popular 1870s style that carried over to the early-80s. This portrait is undated. We suspect that it was probably taken about 1880. in the late-1870s or early-80s. The boys look to be about 4-7 years old. The studio was operated by a rare lady photographer--Mrs. Williams of Wolverhampton. A reader has offered a more detailed description of the boys' outfits. She tells us, "I am now looking closely at both boys' outfits and will share with you what I notice below:
1) Notice the hairstyles. The younger boy has ringlet side curls, done at shoulder length rather loosely curled. His older brother has his hair worn so he may be wearing a slight ringlet curl by the front of his ear. Like his younger brother his hair style exposes most, if not all of his forehead.
2) The younger boy has a top curl on his head set back to center of his head both front to back and side to side. His hair is brushed to expose most of his forehead.
3) Both boys wear a sailor middy blouse that front buttons.
4) Both boys have the traditional three stripe detailing on their blouse sailor collar, just above the sleeve cuffs, chest pocket, and pants seam.
5) The younger boy has what appears to be a black colored ribbon tie that matches the color bow on his collar. It is more difficult to make out the tie and bow of the older boy, but presume that they were identical.
6) Both boys wear knee trousers with the striped detailing and buttons at the knee.
7) Both boys wear a braided lanyard with what I assume is a whistle in their breast pocket. Given the age of the boys, actual whistles could have been a problem as they probably liked blowing them a bit more than their parents appreciated.
8) Notice the boys are wearing Eton collars with their sailor suits. This is something you do not see much in Aerica, but we do notice it in in Britain and Germany during the 19th century.
9) Also notice the white space between the two sides of their sailor V-collars. Either the boys are wearing white shields/dickies or there are no front buttons on the blouse/shirt waists they are wraring under their sailor blouses.
10) The younger boy wears white mid-calf length heavy socks. His older brother wears heavily ribbed long stockings. I can't tell the color but I will assume it is black but possibly faded with age.
11) Both boys wear matching lace-up, low-cut shoes. At the time, high-top shoes were standard in America. An easy way to distinguish American and British portraits.
12) The older boy has a rank insignia on his left sleeve I assume the younger brother does too, but it is obscured by the manner in which the two boys are posed. The cabinet card information tells us that the boys were British, but the Royal Navy rank insignia is another indicator. And these sailors suits were always done as uniforms for ratings (enlisted men), never officers."

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Created: 9:25 PM 8/8/2024
Last updated: 9:25 PM 8/8/2024