1870s-1880s Man in drag. Private Collection.
I got hold of this unique tintype by pure luck…Those are very rare as you can imagine. No bowler or high collar on this cross-dresser but a huge bowtie over a fur coat, a woman’s hat with side gemstones and a confident smile. An amazing find.
Bowlers And High Collars 
March 22nd, 2015 at 4:58 am
It wasn’t uncommon for men to dress and gain employment as maids to avoid military service
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March 22nd, 2015 at 11:46 am
I think this is the picture I was referring to https://summertime75.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/15734/
There was some discussion on Flickr about whether the maid was a male of not, I’m not convinced that it is a male but you never know.
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March 22nd, 2015 at 11:48 am
Hmm…hard to know for sure. She has the thick neck and male jawline, but the adam’s apple isn’t prominent. It could be.
This person looks very androgynous.
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March 22nd, 2015 at 12:07 pm
I looked at her neck and hands and although she could have male features I still err to the female side, I have several where the women look rather male but without any other information it’s impossible to know.
I really like the uniforms of the period and the small picture on my “home page” has a lovely little maid with a collar, they must have been “murder” to work in :-/
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March 22nd, 2015 at 12:18 pm
The uniforms, and the everyday wear of both sexes, especially the women. Sometimes I don’t know how they did it in the summertime with all those layers and no A/C!
I’d love to see the other picture you have you’re not sure about! And thanks for visiting. My blog is a baby, only a few days old! :)
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March 22nd, 2015 at 2:19 pm
Lol, A/C so American :-D
Here are a couple that are “dubious” although perhaps they just look glum through hard work.
https://summertime75.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/edwardian-house-staff/ – the first maid wearing the dark dress on the left.
Good luck with your blog, my “naughty” ones does very well with visitors but my other about Miss Ray attracts only attracts a few visitors.
I originally started just adding my postcards but it seems to have grown and my social history part has been over shadowed, which is a shame.
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March 22nd, 2015 at 2:52 pm
Ha ha! I’m not from the US, but I lived here long enough to speak ‘Americanese’. :D
About the pictures. I’d say the first one is impossible to be certain about, but the second one had me in stitches! I sure hope that was not a woman!
You have a ‘naughty’ blog? I’ll check it out if it’s listed under your profile. And well, the more specific you are with a blog the fewer visitors you’ll get I guess. I hope to get some traffic with this one. It takes time, like every good thing. :)
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March 22nd, 2015 at 3:05 pm
The blog with the maids is a general mix of naughty and social history.
I know what you mean about the second picture, odd “lady.” The starched collar in the first is nice, I believe that some maids had an enameled collar stud, if they could afford it, I found one a couple of years ago which is rather nice.
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April 24th, 2015 at 8:01 pm
Dear Bowlers and High Collars,
(love the name)
Your tintype image is hysterical. I see you’re into it. Perhaps it was tintypeness that attracted you to my post “Gas Stations” with the five attendants lavishing attention on the ’39 automobile gassing up. Or was it something else I missed? (the guys were in drag; one was a tintype junkie; another let his high collar down). Just wondering, and hope to hear back from you and to read more from your “Bowlers” posts.
Mike Andberg
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April 24th, 2015 at 8:21 pm
Thank you, Mike, for your nice feedback. I love every type of old (usually American) classic photos! I loved the picture of the gas attendants you have on your blog. I didn’t notice anyone cross-dressed! I’ll have to revisit it. I do like to collect victorian and edwardian photos of men in drag. I don’t have
many but the ones I find are always interesting. Make yourself at home ;) I need to make this short tonight but I’m always up for talking old photos. Nice to meet you.
Caroline Ryan
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