The Auction site

[Robyn Jodie]

Judging probabilities, I'd say boy.  Back then parents just wouldn't put a girl in a tunic and knickerbockers as in the photo.  On the other hand boys did sometimes wear small ribbons to hold their hair in place, although if the hair bow had been nearly the width of the kid's head, I would have said "girl" in spite of the clothes.

There's a rather good 3-part article posted back in 2011 on how to tell the boys from the girls in old photos: links below...
http://houseofmirthphotos.blogspot.com/2011/05/wow-boy-in-dress-by-pat-street.html
http://houseofmirthphotos.blogspot.com/2011/11/wow-boy-in-dress-part-ii-by-pat-street.html
http://houseofmirthphotos.blogspot.com/2012/04/wow-boy-in-dress-part-iii-by-pat-street.html

[Robyn Jodie]

Regarding the "houseofmirth" articles referenced in my last post, although they were meant for evaluating 19th Century photos, they are pretty reliable up through World War I (c 1917).  The guidelines begin seriously breaking down in the 1920s, and by about 1935 are no longer very reliable or helpful. On the other hand, I know for a fact that many infant boys were still put in dresses in the early 1940s.  Also the modern idea of blue for boys / pink for girls did not become established till the mid 1950s.  Before that, parents were much freer in their choice and the prevailing wisdom was supposedly just the opposite: pink for boys / blue for girls. This may be one reason that Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" (film conceived and begun in the late 1940s, completed and released in 1951) wears a blue dress rather than a pink one.

[Angela M...]

Thanks for your posts Robyn Jodie, I love the photo of the little boy you posted on Mar 15. Would have loved to wear that myself with ringlets in my hair. Alice in Wonderland is my favourite and the dress for sure. I keep trying to talk myself into dressing as her for Halloween. I love your posts and thank you for them.

[Robyn Jodie]

A minor correction: if you are referring to the photo posted in this thread on March 15, it would not be me but our overworked and underpaid (at least undercontributed) moderator Betty who posted it.  But thanks for the compliment.

[Angela M...]

Hey Robin Jodie,
it was a big mistake on my part as this pic came from Andy G. and Betty re-posted it after some magic to clean it up. Sorry Andy and Betty, credit where credit is due. I am a little sluggish after being absent for a little bit. Can't wait for Spring to arrive and get me out of my slump. I need to do what Andy does and go for a walk in the morning.

[andyg0404]

Hi,

I think this qualifies as an oddity. The skirt looks like something you would see covering a small round end table.

Cabinet photo of boy in fancy dress skirted costume with rifle, and dog

http://tinyurl.com/jyobptw

Andy G.

[andyg0404]

Hi,

And this photo of a boy in one of the fancy dress costumes that Frankie has let him have.

1951 Press Photo Robert Mariotti in the Member of the Wedding - orp21124

http://tinyurl.com/heo7249

Andy G.

[Robyn Jodie]

The "the fancy dress costume" on the boy with dog and rifle looks like it's supposed to be some kind of armor.  But I thought armor went out when gunpowder came in, so to me it's a real oddity.

[Betty]

Thanks. This another one I never heard of before. It turns out the picture is from a 1951 play. There is a 1952 movie of it, but not starring the same actors. Anxious to see it, hoping it also may feature a fella in a tutu I searched around for it. It shows in circulation recently but not currently available from my usual sources. I've requested seeders for it, & will search around a little more while I wait for peeps to respond to the request.

[andyg0404]

Hi Betty,

Member of the Wedding is a book written by Carson McCullers which was turned into a very successful Broadway play starring Julie Harris as Frankie, the 12 year old girl, Ethel Waters as the maid Bernice and Brandon DeWilde as John Henry in the original production. The boy in the photo is playing John Henry. The three stars also appeared in the movie version of it and since the play premiered it has been  done in revivals, summer stock and amateur productions many, many times. There was a version that was broadcast on television with Pearl Bailey as Bernice, Dana Hill as Frankie and Benjamin Bernouy as John Henry. I have a videotape of the broadcast and that's what I used with Snappy to capture the stills I posted to the site back in January 2013. Here's a link to that thread. http://buffalobetties.com/sissyboys/index.php/topic,9.msg415.html#msg415 There are a few pictures of Brandon DeWilde and then the rest are of Benjamin Bernouy in his blue tutu. He spends a lot of time on stage wearing it.

Andy G.