- Photo Collection
- Photographs of Men 1850s & 1860s.
- Photographs of Men 1870s & 1880s.
- Photographs of Men from the Turn of the 20th Century
- Photographs of Men from the teens and 1920s.
- Slideshow of Historical Images of Men
- Slideshow of Historical Images of Women - Bustle Era
- Slideshow of Historical Images of Women - Hoop Era
A Couple of the 1850s
A sturdy middle class couple of the late 1850s or early 1860s. Note the fringe beard and small bow tie.
He is also wearing a frock suit, typical of respectable gentlemen of the era. In keeping with the style of the mid-19th Century, his trousers are black, rather than gray pinstripe, which they would have been 20 years or so later.
She is wearing a typical day dress, probably of silk from the look of it, without a hoop and with an odd sort of bow thing at her neck.
Black trousers
Sir-
In a wet-plate image, one cannot make the assumption that solid color garments are any particular color. Dark Yellows and Dark Reds also read as black. Obviously, the gentleman is not wearing the "hickory stripe" trousers, as they are called in the formal-wear industry, but we cannot assume they are black or any particular color.
Re. Black Trousers
You are correct that I cannot state categorically that the trousers in a black & white image are black. Perhaps I could modify that to say that, based upon the predominance of black in surviving garments of the era that they are almost certainly black.