The cardboard mount in this photograph is very thin. Early
cartes tend to have square corners, as here, and display little
or no advertising. So this photograph probably dates from the
1860s. The genre: breeching portrait The little boy is wearing
trousers. Until the 1920s it was normal for boys to wear skirts
up to the age of three to five, after which they were put into
their first pair of short trousers, a minor rite of passage
known as breeching. This sartorial transformation occurred when
the child could be relied upon to stay dry. Boys were given
pennies from relatives and neighbours in celebration of this
event. The facial expressions The Victorians did not encourage
the public display of emotion - a calm expression indicated a
proper degree of self-control. The back of the photograph
Handwritten on the back are the words: "William Henry Roberts
born Jany 20th 1864." The handwriting appears contemporary and
gives a date of around 1867/8. But treat manuscript information
with caution - photographs were