The faces of older people are always more interesting to me than those of small children. You can tell a lot about someone by the lines etched on their faces.

The faces of little children are interesting in a different way. I suppose it’s the raw ingredients of their personalities, before life changes them very much.  There’s no trace of some emotions you often see in an adult’s face,  like cynicism.  Usually their faces are smooth and free from much worry.

This unattributed picture was named A Doubting Thomas. It’s very apropos: this child looks very suspicious of something or someone!

Another suspicious looking child!

The photographer was F. E. Schumacher.  These three boys appear to have been brothers: Rastus, Shadrach, Henery Jackson.

This picture was by Mrs. Hortense Schulze. She named it The Promenaders.

I have a suspicion I may have shown this picture before, and I don’t like to repeat things. But I couldn’t find for sure that I’d posted this little girl’s picture before and she looks very sweet!

This is the exception to the rule. These poor children have already experienced far more trouble in life than they are equipped for. Shot in what was then Dubno, Poland (present-day Ukraine) in 1921, these boys’ parents had been killed in either World War I or the subsequent Russo-Polish War of 1919-20.  I wonder what became of them.

This is Alice Lee Roosevelt, daughter of the great President Theodore Roosevelt. For most of her childhood, she was known as Baby Lee to her father. Alice was named after her mother, who died a few hours after giving birth to her and Theodore couldn’t bear to say her name. She was a beautiful child who grew up to become an ornery woman! Alice Roosevelt Longworth was a fascinating person if you ever wish to delve into her life!

 

This is my personal favorite. It’s a little outside our timeframe, but he is worth it. This is Werfel, a 6-year old Austrian orphan, at the moment he received a new pair of shoes from the American Red Cross in 1946.

Portrait of an Armenian boy by the wonderful Arnold Genthe

And, finally, we have the French Boy Scouts. Look how tough these little fellows are!