Boy in fringed Native American costume, circa 1904

About this postcard

A boy stands barefoot against a brick wall, wearing a fringed shirt and trousers and a feathered headband, a costume modeled on Plains Indian dress. A window with decorative glass shows at the left edge, so he is outdoors beside a building rather than in a studio. Fringed buckskin-style outfits and feather headdresses were common play costumes and parade wear in the early 1900s, when touring Wild West shows and fraternal orders kept such imagery before ordinary families. The pose is plain and informal, the sort of homemade portrait that families had printed as real photo postcards to keep or give away.