Who Were They?

I like this photo for the details of the clothing (no surprise there, right?). This girl is in a plaid dress that features dropped shoulder seams, long cuffed sleeves, a gathered bodice and a skirt over hoop with growth tucks. She has just a frill of lace on her neckline. Note that you see no buttons on the front of this dress. Children’s clothing buttoned in the back. I’m not completely sure why, but I have heard speculation it was so they could not undress themselves. Plaid and other types of busy patterned fabrics were popular choices for children’s clothing because it showed dirt less than a solid.

The photographer for this image was D. Clark of North Brunswick, NJ. I’m dating this photo to the 1865-1869 time frame because the image uses the whole card face, as well as the two lines of the border. There isn’t a tax stamp, so it was not from the 1864-1866 period. Prior to that, images were more typically small in the center of the card face. After 1870 the corners of the CDV cards were rounded.