Five Boys on a Wall
Eastman Johnson c. 1871
 
For a larger view of the picture,
go to The Athenaeum and click on the picture

I like the contrast between the sharply defined edges of the boys’ figures,
and the fuzzy lines at the grass and sky.
Also, the wide parallel chunks across the picture
contrasted with the vertical images of the boys.

Aren’t you glad that we don’t have to wear all those clothes when it’s hot? 
I saw a picture of a fair in St. Louis taken around 1910. 
Every man wore a suit and hat; every woman had volumes
of dark dress and skirts gathered close to her body.
Long sleeves on every man and woman.
And the temperature was 105°!!
They made them tough back then.