A 5"x7" glass plate negative, full figure portrait photograph of Donald, Francis and Richard. The oldest boy is wearing a double-breasted suit coat, pants, white shirt and knotted tie with high-top shoes. Another boy is wearing a dark suit coat with belted waist, short pants, black leggings and high-top shoes. Richard is wearing a dark, double-breasted sailor suit with six large white buttons on the chest and a row of smaller buttons on the cuff of the long sleeves, rows of white trim outlining the sailor collar and mandarin collar of the under shirt, with a white star on the shirt front, knee-length pants, black leggings and high-top shoes. They are standing in front painted backdrop with an open casement window.
Thorpe Opera House Foundation/Boston Studio Project
Local Accession Number
00046760012
Source
Original format: 5"x7" glass plate negative from the Boston Studio Project collection.
Historical Notes
Donald, Francis & Richard are the sons of William C. and Etta Margaret Viall Bell. They were all born in Nebraska. According to the 1900 census, the family was living in Oak Creek Township, Butler County, where William C. was a farmer. Donald's legal name was William Donald Bell, born June 20, 1895, in Nebraska. He died November 1961, in Los Angeles, California. Francis was born in 1896. Richard James was born in April 1899. According to the 1910 census, the family was living in Colorado, where William C. continued to farm.
