Figure 1.--This English group was part of a YMCA picnic head in Dorchester England about 1906. Two boys wear suits with Eton collars. The boy with the soccer ball wears a sailor suit.
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Figure 1.--This English group was part of a YMCA picnic head in Dorchester England about 1906. Two boys wear suits with Eton collars. The boy with the soccer ball wears a sailor suit. |
I have collected very little information about picnics. I believe it is primarily a custom that became popular in the 19th century. This does not mean that picnics were not heald earlier, but I believe the picnic did not become a reallu popular event until the 19th century. Customs varied from country to country. The 4th of July picnic in America, for example, was the high point of the summer. As is trur for most occasions, dress was much more formal at 19th century picnics. What was considered casual at the time, such as boaters, blazers, and flannel trousers were summer picnic staples.
I am not aware of the history of the picnic. We suspect that royalty and the rich may have endulged in the 18th century. As far as I know the picnic as an event for the average picnic appeared in the 19th century. With greater affluence and the family car, the possibilites for picnics greatly expanded in the 20th century.
As far as I know the picnic as an event for the average picnic appeared in the 19th century. With greater affluence and the family car, the possibilites for picnics greatly expanded in the 20th century.
With greater affluence and the family car, the possibilites for picnics greatly expanded in the 20th century. Picnics had become well established summer events by the early 20th century. With the adventof the Kodak Brownie in 1900, we began to learn much more about every day dress as the camera emerged from the photo studio and the amateur snap shop began to provide increasing numbers of images illustarting contemprary fashion. Fashiins varied from country to country. Men and women usually wore hats and suits. Boys also wore hats, but not as commonly as adults. Many boys also wore suits to picnics, but not as commonly as adults and casual children's fashions began to make inroads on formal dress.
The picnic became a popular event throughout Europe and North Anerica. We know less about other countries. We suspect it was most common in heavily indutrialized countries where people wanted to get out in the countryside, but we see people having picnics in small towns as well. Some countries were escpecially noted for their love of the country side, here England and Germany seem to have been countries where people especially enjoyed walks in the country and picnics. Hopefully readers will tell us about picnics in their countries.
American boys might wear suits to picmics, but I do not think it was nearly as common as in England.
An Australian reader tells us that in his town there was "The Smelters Picnic". "It had a big sideshow area and three legged races. My cousin Nicky and I won a whole dollar each on a hot day in 1969 and I had chicken sandwiches with my posh aunty and cups of warm tea with cream biscuits. I was in other picnic races like the egg and spoon race. I was in relay races with a change over wooden baton which was painted a team colour. We had chicken chasing races and sometimes if you caught the hen you took her home to put wih your other chooks and I won two and gave a white one to Nicky and he said I was real cuz no joking. We had sprint races and sack races where you get in to a wheatbag which is made of hession and jump up and down in a race and first over the line wins and I won one sack race and then we lined up for the traditional oranges and bag of sweets and Nicky and I lined up
three times because we were both quite naughty really but grandfather liked it because we often gave him the oranges. I also went to the Port Pirie Motorcycle Club Picnic every year up around the hills of the Mid North in country South Australia and did basically the same thing as we did at the beaut Smelters Picnic in beautiful Crystal Brook 26kms from my small ciy of Port Pirie and we either drove, rode our bikes, or caught the bus to the Crtstal Brook Showgrounds where we had bbq's soft drinks cold salads and nice chicken sandwiches and we wentto the sideshow alley and went on the many rides and that year was the only year Nicky and I went to the picnic together."
Picnics in Canada were popular as they were in America and Britain. We do not know of any destinctive aspects. Of course the weather was a factor that narrowed the window for picnics in Canada. We note a family picnic in Canada during the 1940s..
Figure 2.--This close up of the English YMCA picnic shows the boys wearing a sailor suit and a suit with Eton collar. Both boys wear kneepanrs withblong stockings. |
English picnics could be quite formal. They were often held by YMCAs, companies, churches, and other groups. The ladies might bring white table clothes and polished silver. Boys often wore suits to picnics. Sailor suits were common for younger boys. Fauntleroy suits were less common as they were considered to dressy for most picnics. Suits with Eton collars were common in the 1900s. School boys might wear peaked school caps, even in situations where the school rules were not being enforced. Older boys might wear boaters. The suits were often worn with vests. Boys sometimes removed their jackets and wore thir vests. Pants were mostly kneepants worn with long stockings. Short trousers with kneesocks became more common in the 1910s. One reason that English picnicers wore their suits more than Americans was that the English were generally more formal. Another factor was the weather. While England can have warm summer days, they are not as hot as in America and there can even be temperate summer days, especially in northern England.
Figure 3.--This close up of the English YMCA picnic shows the boy earing a d\suit and Eton collar with his peaked school cap. Note the crest on the cap. |
I believe that sailor suits were very popular picnic wear in France. I do not think smocks were as common. Smocks were more associated with school and home wear.
Germany is escpecially noted for their love of the country side. We note many images of youths and families on walks in the country as well as family picnics.
No information yet.
There are different types of picnics. The simpliest is the family picnic which can be held any where from the back yard to a park or outing into the country. Of c ourse the appearance of inexpensive cars like the Model-T Ford greatly inceased the possibilities for the family picnic. Other types of picnics included community, church, and company picnics. It is not always apparent from available images just what kind of picnic is being depicted. These of course were much more elaborate than the family picnic and came with elaborate entertaiment planned.
One of the activities at picnics wer games. These were many of the same games that might be played at other events like church or village fetes and birthday parties. We note the same ganes being played in many different countries. There was a wide variety of these games, including the egg and sppon race, sack race, three-legged race, wheel-barrel race, and many others.
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