Figure 1.--This American boy was named Lenny. We do not know his last name. Here he is shown with his alto sax wearing a knickers suit which was very common in the 1930s. Notice the patterened kneesocks. |
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This American boy was named Lenny. We do not know his last name. Here he is shown with his alto sax wearing a knickers suit which was very common in the 1930s. Notice the patterened kneesocks.
We have not yet begun to research the history of the saxaphone. We believe that it became very popular in America during the jazz age. The sax became an increasingly mainstream instrument when White youths picked up jazz calling it swing. We note increasing numbers of boys playing the saxaphone in the 1930s.
We know this boy's name was Leonnard and that he was called Lenny in the family. We do not know his last name. In the photograph here he looks to be about 12-13 years old.
The photographs we have of Lennie and his family are undated. Based on his clothing, we would guess that the photograph was taken in the mid-1930s. The patterened kneesocks is one factor in assessing this as a 1930s image. Patterened kneesocks were worn by the late 1920s, but solid colored long stockings were very common in the early and mid-1920s.
The look of the clothes and the Christmas with Santa clearly identified Lenny and his family a Americans. There were in the 1930s very destinctive children's clothing styles in various countries. We do not know where Lennie was from, but because of the heavy material of his suit we would guess the Northeast or Midwest.
Lenny wears a knickers suit. It is a dark color. I'm not sure about the cp;pr. but would guess it was probably brown. He looks to have some kind of pin on his lapel. He has a soft collar swhite shirt with wha looks liked a solid-color necktie. His knickers are bucked below the knees. He wears rather loud patterend kneesocks and leather oxford low cut shoes.
Most boys did their recitals in their best suits, commonly but not always dark suits. Some boys had special performance outfits. These might be worn if a boy was especially good and performed cpmmercially or was a part of some kind of school program or church service. Lenny's special performance costume was a kind of silk blouse with a large, probably red, bow. Curriously a younger brother and a sister or cousin wears a similar outfit. Perhaps there was some kind of family event.
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Lenny and the other boys have a short haircut.
Lenny might be named after Uncle Lennord. Another Uncle, Uncle Robert, played Santa Clause for the family.
This looks to be a family Christmas celebration. The age of the children suggests that they are not all brothers and suisters. Perhaps there are cousins or family friends included. Uncle Robert played Santa. Two of the children look to be wearing a performance costume. We thought that one boy was wearing shortpants and kneesocks, but the longish hair suggests that this is a girl (figure 2). The image is, however, ambigous as the shirt looks rather boyish and it was unusual for girls to wear black kneesocks.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main Chronology Page]
[The 1880s]
[The 1890s]
[The 1900s]
[The 1910s]
[The 1920s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
[The 1990s]
Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Kilts]
[Caps]
[Sailor suits]
[Sailor hats]
[School uniform]
[Scout]
