1870 support glove?

[LilyS]

Hi,

I am mystified by the detail of my 2nd great-grandfather's left hand in this 1870 studio photograph taken in southern India, where he was a Lt Colonel in the British Army. It appears to be covered in cloth, bar his index finger, but his right hand is resting on a pair of gloves. Could he be wearing a support glove of some kind? My brother has suggested his hand might instead have nasty, tropical growths on it. My mother has suggested that he is holding hat strings with beads wrapped around his fingers. Did top hats have strings? Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Jonathan]

I suspect he is holding one glove and the other glove is on his hand (you can salute with a gloved hand, but you take your glove off to shake hands...) I don't see any beads or strings or his index finger - I think its just shadows created from ripples in the cloth of the glove and the strong overhead light.

 

[LilyS]

So it would have been habitual for a gentleman to remove just his right glove in order to shake hands? You could be right, Jonathan, there is only one definite glove under his right hand (see close up).

 

[Jonathan]

Yes, Victorian etiquette defines that a gentleman doesn't shake hands with his gloves on - only a lady leaves her gloves on.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Hello,

That is a great photograph. I enjoyed seeing the top hat, especially since I can see a little bit of the interior which is rare to see. To answer your question about Victorian top hats having strings, as in a wind cord or wind trolley, I would have to say "no" they did not.