A date for these sisters

[Jill on the A272]

My distant cousin Charles has given me permission to put some of his photos in the Costume Gallery, this is quite an early one I think
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/JillontheA272/ChildElizabethLHSwithSisterRHS.jpg
All I know is that it is Elizabeth Child & sister (not one of my ancestors, all I have is that as the photo title)

[Just Barbara]

These ladies are very early, I think about 1850, have you seen the actual photo by any chance Jill?

[Jill on the A272]

Glad you said 1850 Barbara, I was thinking along those lines myself. I have a CDrom with a variety of pics that he sent me, so I haven't seen any originals. Just found a family tree chart on there too so have found them on the 1841 census both "15"

[Just Barbara]

I think the touching up where the gold is was probably original too.....

[don.t]

I would agree with Barbara on the dating with this study. Although the hair style on both the young women would be more in keeping with the 1840's it still carried on into the very early 1850's when the style became less fussy and ringlets such as those shown went out of fashion. As an aside to this if your hair was not long enough or there was not enough of it you could, at that time, purchase ready made ringlets/curls at 3/- a pair. I suppose you could say that they were the forerunners of modern day hair exentions (although to be honest I would not care for someone else's hair to be pinned to mine, more so during that period).

Also as Barbara has already said, the colouration of the "gold" on the picture would have been done at the studio, usually by young trainee's which in most cases were children of the photographer.

don

[Jill on the A272]

Thanks for your input don, I've been doing more research since I last posted on the hairstyles which seem to be more 1840s than 1850s. Perhaps its on the turn between the two decades. The huge difference in the necklines surprises me, one in an off the shoulder dress & the other covered to the neck.

[brenmac]

1880,s brenda xxx