Figure 1.--This photograph shows a typical birthday party in an affluent middle-class family during the early 20th century. It is notable for the formality of the event. I'm not sure where it was taken or when but would guess the late 1910s or early 1920s. This party is for a group of younger children. From the look of the birthday cake it looks like they are about 4 years old.

HBC is not sure when the custom of the birthday party became firmly established in America. It certinly was established by the late 19th century. We have seen photographs from the early 20th century. The photographic record shows that the birthday party seems to have been a well established convention in the early 20th century so we assumed that it developed well before that. We are guessing that it was one of many Victorian institutions that caught on in America. The photographic record shows that birthdays were celebrated by a wide strata of society. The children used to dress up in party clothes. I'm mot sure how much before that. I certainly remember my parties in the late 1940s and early 50s. My birthdays were rather informal affairs. My birthday is firing the summer so we often went to a park. We lived near Rock Creek Park. (Rock Creek Park is the largest urban park in America complete with the National Zoo.) So there were endless possibilities. Except for Christmas they were the high point of the year.

Photograph

Birthday parties could be very formal events. I'm not sure where the photograph here was taken. We do know that it is American. It could well be the mid-west but the appointments of the residence are quite generic for the entire eastern half of the United Sates. HBC would guess some time in the late 1910s or early 1920s. One reader guess about 1923. The photograph shows an interesting upper middle-class phenomenon, the holding of birthday parties for small children. We can't tell whose birthday is being celebrated but the cake has four candles, so someone in the picture must have just turned 4 years old. An adoring parent has clearly recorded the event with his camera for the family album. (Usually the father took the family photographs. He has managed for a moment to get the attention of all of the children being entertained. Some of the children seem to be older than the birthday child, perhaps 5 or 6. They all wear party paper hats, mostly in the shape of crowns and seem almost universally to be dressed in white--apparently the dress-up mode for special events, at least for boys aged 4-6. The two boys in the foreground look as though they might be brothers, are dressed differently. The boy on the right wears a white sailor suit with striped collar and cuffs and a plain white middie blouse. His suit has long trousers. The boy on the left wears a short pants suit with white long stockings and hose supporters which show at the top of his stockings. His suit consists of a belted blouse or tunic with a large collar (notice the decorative edging) and what appear to be matching shorts. The table decorations, taper candles, and crepe paper streamers attached to the dining room chandelier all bespeak a fairly affluent household. Most of the children seem to be boys but there are a few girls as well.

Chronology

HBC is not sure when the custom of the birthday party became firmly established in America. We think it was a Victorain development, presumably imported from Britain or Germany. It certinly was established by the late 19th century. I'm mot sure how much before that. We do not have many 19th century images of birthdays. This is primarily because photography until the turn of the century was a studio event. It was not until the Kodak Browine mde the home snap shot common that we begin to get large numbers of images of birthday parties. We have seen photographs from the early 20th century. The photographic record shows that the birthday party seems to have been a well established convention in the early 20th century The family snapshot of the event became an essential part of the event. Traditions varies from family to family, but early 20th century birthday parties were often forml events with boys wearing their best suits and girls party dresses. Thus these party photographs provide interesting views of both fashion and social conventions over time. I certainly remember my parties in the late 1940s and early 50s. My birthdays were rather informal affairs.

Social Class

The photographic record shows that birthdays were celebrated by a wide strata of society. Of course the celebration was affected by the family's income level.

Clothing Styles

The clothing worn to birthday parties has varies. Here we note both different garments as fashions changed over time. We also note changing conventions as formal dress cave way to more cassual dress. The children used to dress up in their best party clothes. Boys in the late 19th century might wear velt suits with lace collrs and girls party frocks, perhaps with dressy pinafores. I can remember still dressing up for birthday parties in the 1940s, but not wearing a suit. Modern children normally wear play clothes.

Location

Birthday parties in the late 19th and early 20th century seemed to have been rather sedate formal affairs held at hime, often in the parlor. Gradually mothers began to realize that at least during the summer that outdoor events made more sence for children and there was less chance of inevitable spills messing up rugs and furniture. My birthday was during the Summer. So it was often held in our large back yard, in fact a whole lot next to our house. We also we often went to a park. We lived near Rock Creek Park. (Rock Creek Park is the largest urban park in America complete with the National Zoo.) So there were endless possibilities.

Importance

Birthdays for American children became the high-point of the year, except for Christmas of course. Pity the poor children whose birthdays were near Christmas.

Created: March 8, 2004
Last updated: 7:04 AM 7/5/2008