Bowlers And High Collars

I got these two tintypes from the same place. I didn’t notice when I got them, but the boy on the second one looks like he could be the same one as on the first.

What do you think? He has the same short nose, downward curled lips and dark eyes. The chin is different but it could be the way he’s posing. He also likes his bowlers.

The same boy ?

I like the way they’re posing with their hands on their father’s shoulders. He had them late in life it seems, or -less likely- he was their grandfather. Isn’t he a character too with his rugged looks and bushy beard? Right out of a Gold Rush story.

These tintypes give me this feeling this was taken in a rural area, a smaller town somewhere in the plains or mountains of the American west or northwest. They are dressed well, but decidedly adapted to the country life.
On the second tintype the boy is dressed up without a collar or tie (leave those uncomfortable accoutrements to the city boys!), and his shoes are dusty. There is something on them, some kind of flap, perhaps to protect from backsplash while riding a horse or wagon.

On the first tintype, the younger brother looks like he’s wearing some type of low hanging striped apron over the trousers. Maybe this served the same purpose.

Also, while the two backdrops are different they look like they were painted by the same artist.