Browse Items (83 total)

This young man wears many items of clothing: a shirt, waistcoat, coat, and overcoat with a pair of trousers. The shirt exhibits a low collar and is secured with a small striped tie. His plaid waistcoat is buttoned high and has a shawl collar. The…

This photograph was taken in the studio of I. Forman of Fairmount, West Virginia. Forman began his photography business in 1864 after doing farm work and millwork. The boy pictured has already started wearing breeches, or short trousers, a rite of…

This tintype shows a young boy in an uncharacteristically casual pose, with one leg tucked up and his arms resting on the back of the chair. Boys would wear dresses until the age of three or four,  graduating to short pants with stockings before…

During the crinoline period, bodices fitted closely to the waist, from which the skirt widened into a round or dome shape. Waistlines at this time, during the late 1850s, had evenly distributed gathers or pleats. Looking closely at the photo, her…

The ambrotype was invented in England by William Henry Fox Talbot, but not perfected until 1854 by James A. Cutting. This ambrotype is held in a Union Case, patented on October 14, 1856 and on April 21, 1857. Union cases were made of a “union” of…

This studio portrait shows a young boy leaning on a table, hands folded across his stomach. His outfit appears to be made from velvet fabric edged with ribbon. The jacket has a small turn-down collar buttoning up the front, and additional buttons on…

This photograph of two boys, holding hands, was taken in the studio of Daniel Sewell in Sonora, CA. The boys wear almost identical outfits featuring a style known as the "zouave" jacket. The jacket buttons at the top, revealing the white shirt with a…

A young woman is standing with her hand placed on a chair in a photography studio. Standing was a common pose for women at this time because it best displayed the wide skirts. This photograph was taken at J.S. Howard’s studio in New Bedford,…

The sitter wears a full skirt with a small bustle effect, helping to date this photograph to the end of the 1860s or the beginning of the 1870s. The high neckline with its separate collar and brooch had been in use since the 1850s, but the fullness…

The young boy seated on a pillow in this photograph is dressed in a tunic that buttons down his right side, with the Eton-style collar and cuffs of his shirt showing from beneath the garment. The wide leather belt combined with this side closure…