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Somewhere in New England circa 1900. "Children at home." Where some get the comfy couch, and others a dark corner. 5x8 inch glass negative. View full size.
With my first glance at these adorable kids, I got the vibe that they were Irish with red hair and freckles. Since I married an Irish person over 50 yrs. ago and have seen four generations of related families in both pictures and real life, I would bet that these moppets are indeed descendants of County Cork or Kerry or Dublin. I have a similar daughter named Mary Margaret and three sons, and even though they are half Polish, the Irish blood (and temper and humor) comes through loud and clear. Very charming.
When I look at that pic I am overwhelmed with that "old-furniture musty smell."
Didn't that shirt show up on an episode of "Seinfeld"?
While I love the starched clean outfits, I want to see the dog so patiently sitting and staying behind the frilly shirted young fellow. Who's a good dog?!
I'll bet 30 seconds before this, the big brother told his little brother "SHHH! The sooner you hold still for the picture, the sooner we can take these dumb clothes off and go play!" And yes, the younger one IS a boy!
[Actually she's a little girl named Mary. - Dave]
Now I'm a bit embarrassed, but if you look at children's fashions from that era, both the clothing and hairstyle on Mary is far more typical of a small boy than a small girl. Children of both sexes were dressed identically, or nearly so, in infancy, and then the boys moved gradually toward more masculine fabrics, plainer skirts, shoes, etc., although they kept the ruffled blouses for quite a while. By about age three, they began putting short pants, or kilts, on boys. Hair was often long until the child was school age, especially if it was curly, or very blond. In searching the US Naval Academy Lucky Bags, I've seen dozens of pictures of various graduates, as children, with During the first 20 years of the 20th century, there was a gradual change, until it was rare to put dresses on little boys, except for infants, which was done for easier access to diapers (no gripper snaps or onesies, yet!). So, I concede that I was wrong, this time, I still think that it would be more common to see a little boy dressed like little Mary, in 1900.
Well, maybe not with that frilly shirt. As for the other child, it's no guarantee that it's not a boy too at that age.
I'd always thought that the 1970s encompassed the low point in fashion design, but I guess I was wrong.
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