# Portrait posing with hand inside jacket **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661 "2011-03-06T04:45:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/1 "2011-03-06T04:45:50Z")
Why did people (maybe only men) once pose with one hand (the right one it seems) inside their jacket pocket for portraits? Some old photos show people doing this, too, not just paintings, but it must have fallen out of favor not too long after the camera became a somewhat common way to take portraits. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/2 "2011-03-06T05:03:50Z")
Random Wild Guess here, but it may go back to older portraits of men with hands on their sword. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/3 "2011-03-06T05:04:18Z")
It has been speculated that that pose solves two problems at once: what to do with your hands, and having to paint a hand in the first place. It also helps you hold your belly in. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/4 "2011-03-06T07:20:23Z")
> [@TravisFromOR](#): > > Random Wild Guess here, but it may go back to older portraits of men with hands on their sword. Which sword? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/5 "2011-03-06T12:46:37Z")
This pose originated with Napoleon. During the US Civil War, most officers effected the same pose. It also allowed you to keep your pants from falling down. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/6 "2011-03-06T13:14:22Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > This pose originated with Napoleon. [George Washington](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_George_Washington_-_Charles_Willson_Peale_-_overall.jpg) would be surprised to hear that. Or are you saying that it was George Washington who was imitating the pose adopted by portraits of the seven-year-old Napoleon Bonaparte? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/7 "2011-03-06T14:37:45Z")
The OP said the hand was in the jacket _pocket_. I imagine something [more like this](http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/CS009615.html), rather than the [del]“Napoleon”[/del] “Washington” pose. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/8 "2011-03-06T15:28:26Z")
A WAG: It’s just something people did with their hands when getting a portrait, similar to the way people often put their hands in an [L shape](http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_197/1192901570wxr2JL.jpg) today. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/9 "2011-03-06T15:35:59Z")
maybe it helped produce a reproducible stable pose, good for portraits or long duration photos. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/10 "2011-03-06T16:27:11Z")
It seems to be the left hand, so the answer is oh so obvious! They are hiding the wedding band.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/11 "2011-03-06T17:48:19Z")
George Washington upthread looks like he’s trying to keep from barfing. Maybe they just didn’t feel well? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/12 "2011-03-06T18:01:41Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Which sword? > [@ZenBeam](#): > > A WAG: It’s just something people did with their hands when getting a portrait You don’t say. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/13 "2011-03-06T18:12:08Z")
The point being that it’s nothing _more_ than that. Why do people make the L shape? It doesn’t _mean_ anything. ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/14 "2011-03-07T04:21:01Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > The OP said the hand was in the jacket _pocket_. I imagine something [more like this](http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/CS009615.html), rather than the [del]“Napoleon”[/del] “Washington” pose. Sorry I meant jacket like Napolean, not pocket. not sure why I wrote pocket.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/15 "2011-03-07T04:41:01Z")
It was supposed to display breeding: > **[Faq#12: Why is Napoleon's hand in his coat?](https://www.napoleon-series.org/faq/c_hand.html)** > > Napoleon Series: Frequently Asked Questions: Why is Napoleon's hand in his coat? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/16 "2011-03-07T14:46:16Z")
According to [this](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090906123519AAKAqqj) and several other sites easily found by googling it, it is; “It is a Masonic pose. It is called the “Sign of the Master of the Second Veil” in Freemasonry” Although others say as **yabob** stated, or that it was merely copying poses that people had seen on statues and portraits. And interestingly enough, the google search turns up this thread from 2001; [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-67736.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-67736.html) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/17 "2011-03-07T16:49:13Z")
If you saw the documentary _Time Bandits_, you’d know that Napoleon had a solid-gold hand that he wanted to keep hidden. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/18 "2011-03-07T19:50:43Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > The point being that it’s nothing _more_ than that. Why do people make the L shape? It doesn’t _mean_ anything. Sure it does! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/19 "2011-03-07T20:17:06Z")
Here’s an even earlier portrait of Washington, in his Virginia militia uniform, with his hand… well, you know: [Redirect](http://www.freedomfilmdistributors.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Washington-1772-VA-militia-uniform.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661/20 "2011-03-07T20:30:19Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > maybe it helped produce a reproducible stable pose, good for portraits or long duration photos. This’d be my guess - it’s a fairly comfortable pose one can hold for some time. This could also explain the surprising lack of “air guitar” paintings. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-posing-with-hand-inside-jacket/573661.md?page=2)