Maude Ide Streeter, 1891

The subject is a well-nourished, alert infant, propped up high on a stuffed and tufted armchair draped with decorative rugs or blankets (fig. 1). Given the infant’s bright, focused expression and truncal control, she appears to be between six and eight months of age.

A notation on the card’s reverse identifies her as “Maude Ide Streeter 1891,” who is also the donor of the photograph. Maude was born on 14 July 1890 in East Providence, RI, and died on 1 April 1993 in Pawtucket, RI. The clothing has the hallmarks of a christening ensemble, for an occasion important enough to warrant a solo portrait of an infant dressed all in white, symbolizing innocence and purity, in multiple layers of frocks and coat much longer than any other garment worn by children in that era.

The infant’s costume is entirely white. The cap appears to be embroidered on the sides and edged with ruffled trim, which continues into a crest of fluffy loops or a very large rosette. An embroidered bib lies below the chin and attaches behind the neck. There are at least three layers of fabric making up a long frock, which extends well beyond the infant’s feet and beyond the lower edge of the photo. A thicker outer coat is almost as long as the frock and has short sleeves with an embroidered cape and hem, closed with buttons at the yoke and bound by a twisted rope at the waist.

Without the strong hint as to the date of the photo, the costume could have been worn at any time during the second half of the nineteenth century, as infants’ fashion changed slowly. The photo itself provides more specific clues. The dimensions, shape and imprint on the cardboard identify it as a cabinet card. The cartes de visite were phased out by 1890. The lack of blurring from movement by an unrestrained infant indicate the faster shutter speed of the later technology.

Among the items donated to the URI Historic Textile and Costume Collection by Mrs. Crabbs is the outer garment that she wore in this photo. It is labeled “white cashmere baby coat made for Mrs. Crabbs.” It is very long and surprisingly heavy. The fabric is a twill weave, gathered into cartridge pleats at the neck and high waist. The seams are hand-sewn and covered. The cape is scallop-edged. The short sleeves, entire cape, and hem are hand-embroidered with satin stitch rows of Greek key motif and leaves with drawn-work flowers, a technique known as Ayrshire work.

References

Buck, Anne. 1996. Clothes and the Child: A Handbook of Children’s Dress in England 1500-1900. New York: Holmes & Meier.

Clark, Gary W. 2019. 19^th Century Card Photos KwikGuide: A Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying and Dating Cartes de Visite and Cabinet Cards. Middletown, DE: www.PhotoTree.com.

Cooper, Cynthia. 2011. “The Victorian and Edwardian Eras: 1860-1910.” In The Fashion Reader, edited by Linda Welters and Abby Lillethun, 69-83. London and New York: Bloomsbury.

Severa, Joan. 1995. Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900. Kent, Ohio & London, England: Kent State University Press.