Figure 1.--This is the earliest photographic image I have of the peaked cap. The boy here is wearing it with fishing gear. As he is also wearing a blazer, it is probably his school casp. The photograph was taken in England during the 1850s.

The basic peaked cap has a rounded crown with a bill or peak entending in the front. It is a cap rather than a hat, of course, because the bill is not a bream that extends all around the crown. Peaked caps first appeared in England at cricket matches at the mid-19th century. We notice several variations of the traditional English school cap, but the traditional style was worn for over a decasde with very minor alterations in the basic style. it was primarily worn They were soon adopted for schoolboy uniforms and were commonly worn through the 1950s. The peaked cap it most associated with British school caps, but in fact was not limited to schoolwear nor to England. Many boys in America and other countries wire them, although there wre often socoal class connontations. HBC still lacks precise details on the origin and develoment of the peaked cap, but some information is currently available.

Definition

The basic peaked cap has a rounded crown with a bill or peak entending in the front. It is a cap rather than a hat, of course, because the bill is not a bream that extends all around the crown. Peaked caps were made with various alternations to the peak and crown, but most remained remarkably similar over the decades that they were worn.

Origins and Influences

HBC at this time is only beginning to piece together the origins of the British peaked school cap. For a garment of this importance, the available historical information is remarakably limited.

Origins

HBC can at this time only speculate as to the origins of the peaked cap. As is often the case with boys clothes, there may be military origins. During the Napoleonic wars dashing calvarymen and grenadiers as well as other units from several countries were often uniformed in a military style peaked cap. This is the first time I have noted this style so widely used. The crown of course was not rounded, but there was a definite peak or bill. Boys in the early 19th century wore a military style peaked cap. This may well have been the inspiration for the peaked cap as we know it today.

Peaked caps first appeared in England at cricket matches during the mid-19th century. I assume they were first introduced at public schools, but can not confirm this. Neither do I know at which schools or precisely when. I have seen photographs of peaked cap being worn for sport as early as the 1860s, but this practice probably began even earlier. They were soon adopted for schoolboy uniforms. Presumably this was at the time a popular inovation as the boys saw cricket as a major passtime and no doubt looked up to the team members wearing them. British school boys by the 1870s were commonly waering caps. The style was quickly adopted in the colonies and to a lesser extent America. It was also seen on the Continent.

Influences

The original peaked caps were soon adopted for school wear and latter for cubs. The peaked cap was probably the inspiration for the modern baseball cap. The association between cricket and baseball is extensive. Certainly the inspiration for Doubeday's baseball is cricket and rounders (another cricket offshoot). In fact, early baseball caps were peaked caps.

Chronology

HBC does not have precise chronological information, but can sketch out an approximate chromology by an examination of available photographic images. The development of photography, in fact appears to have coincided with that of the peaked cap. We note peaked caps first in Britain during the 1850s. From the beginning they were a chool style in Britain. We begin to see American boys wearing them at the turn of the 20th century. Gradually in America they lost popularity to flat caps. They countibued gto be worn for school in Britain. They were also used for the Cub uniform in Britain. This style was copied in many other national Scout movemets as other ountries added Cub programs. We also see them in European countries, but seem to be less assocoated with school. Popularity varied from country to country. They seem to have been especially popular in the Netherlands. While flat caps became the main boys style in America, by the 1930s we do still see boys wearing peaked caps. They seem to have been a styled favored by well-to-do families, perhaps beause of the association with Britain. They were sometines worn with matcing suits. They became lass common by the 1970s. n Britain they vecame after World War II an exclussively school style, but begn to decline in the 1960s, even at schools.

Styles

The basic peak cap has not varied greatly in style. The size of the peak varied somewhat as did the domensions of the crown. Some came with buttons on the top. While the school cap could have been different colors and designs worked into the basic cap, which varied little. We note some American boys wearing peaked caps with a much fuller crown, a kind of dress peaked cap. This style was not schoolwear and persisted through the 1920s, but was not nearly as common as the standard school cap.

Figure 3.--While the peaked cap is best known for as a British school cap, American boys began wearing the style in the 1920s when dressing up--especially when wearing a suit. This advertisement is from a 1942 American magazine. Click on the image for an enlargement of the cap. Note that by the 1940s that the beret was identified as a girls' cap in America, and even smaller boys rarely wore them.

Material

The material depended on the type of cap, country, and chronological period. The original peaked caps as the first peaked school caps and British cub caps were made of flannel. When Cubs came to America I do not think the material was flannel. At least in the 1950s my cub cap was made of the same material as the shirt which I think was cotton. The original baseball caps were flmannel and this continued into the 1950s. Modern baseball caps are poluester. The dressy peaked caps worn by American boys were often flannel, but matched the material and color of the suit they were worn with.

Colors

The ordinary peaked cap was normally one solid color, usually a sober blue or grey. Black was popular in Aerica. Cub peaked caps were often a solid color with yellow piping. Many countries adopted the geen British cub cap with yellow piping.

Types

The peaked cap was not limited to school wear. There were many different types of peaked caps. While the design varied little, the color and design worked into the cap could vary substantially, depending on the country and type of cap.

Cricket cap

School cap

The peaked cap it most associated with British school cap. The British school cap while of the same basic design came in a wide variety of colors and paterns (including pie wedges and cirles). The caps by the 1960s became very unpopular with the boys who often would only put them on when they got close to school. Many schools will strict iniform regulations continued to require them. Some schools even had prefects on the buses to ensure that the other boys kept their caps on. By the 1970s, however, almost all secondary schools had done away with them. Today they are rarely seen except at cricket matches and a few traditional prep schools. Interestingly some schools still requiring caps have shifted to the American baseball caps rather than the traditional English peaked cap. This trend can, for example, be seen in New Zealand.

Baseball caps

The style was adopted by American baseball players in the late 19th century. While the school cap is the most well known peaked cap,

Wolf cubs

When Cub scouts were formed it became part of the basic uniform in most countries. British cubs continue to wear the traditional cap, but American cubs in the 1980s changed to baseball caps.

Dresswear in America

Well dressed American boys wearing suits in the 1920s-30s often wore solid colored peaked caps. This was less common in Britain as boys were more likely to wear their school caps. Peaked caps were not extensively worn at American schools wear boys did not normally uniforms, but beginning in the 1920s as sailor caps declined in popularity, well dressed boys bdegan to wear peaked caps in colors matching their suits. The peaked cap was especially common with the Eton suit worn by younger boys in America. Even after graduating to more mature style suits, a well dressed American boy from an affluent family might continued to wear a peaked cap until 12 or even 13 years old.

Countries

Convnetions and the popularity of the peaked cap varied greatly from country to country. The peak cap first appeared in Britain and from the beginning was strongly associated with schoolwear. The major exception was Cuubbing. The peaked cp was chosen as the style for the Wolf Cub program. Many other countries subsequently used the peaked cap for their Cub program. We note them in America during the late 19th century. They were not as strongly associated with school wear in America and conventions varied over time. They were also worn in Europe, but the popularity varied widely from country. The association with Britain was probabky a fctor. They appear to have been especially popular in the Netherlands. The peaked cap was also widely worn in British Empire countries.