Figure 1.--Stripped stockings were quite common in the 1870s. A good example here is Hermann and Otto, two boys from Bremen in 1873. I'm not sure what color theu would have been.

We have very few images of German boys wearing patterened long stockings. We assume that boys wore stripped stockings in the late 19th century, but do not yet have many images to confirm this. These were fairlt common in other countris as well. We are not sure about the 1860s, but we know that stripped stockings were quite common in the 1870s. A good example here is Hermann and Otto, two boys from Bremen in 1873 (figure 1). It was a common style in many other countries as well. A German reader confirms that patterened long stockings were not common at the turn of the 20th century. The first impage we have noted dates to 1900. It is a portrait of Kurt Malkhe in 1900 who wears long stockings with a simple pattern. These patterened stockings do not seem to have been very common, but we see them more in Germany than other countries. We have another image from the 1930s just before World War II with a more complicated pattern. We do not know when these more complicated patterns first appeared because we see so fe boys wearing them. Perhaps they were more expensive than plain stockings. We see a German boy in 1938 wearing long patterenened long stockings. We also notice them after the War in the 1950s. A good example is a little boy at school in the early 1950s.

The 19th Century

We know that some Germany boys wore patterened long stockings, but we are not yet sure anout the precise chronology. We have very few images of German boys wearing patterened long stockings in the 19th century, but that probably reflects our reltively limited archive. Even so, our axcghive is substantial enough that we can see thst patterened long stockings were not as common a plain colored stockings. We have no information at this time on the mid-19th century. We assume that boys wore stripped stockings in the late-19th century (1870s abnd 80s), but have not found many German images to confirm this. These were fairly common in many other countris. Striped stockings seem the most common, but we notice some other patterns as well. We are not sure about the 1860s, but we know that stripped stockings were quite common in the 1870s. A good example here is Hermann and Otto, two boys from Bremen in 1873 (figure 1). We also mote examples from the 1880s. We are less sure aboutg the 1890s.

The 20th Century

We note German boys wearing a variety of patterened long stockings in the 20th century. While we see many different patterns, we no longer see the horixzonal stripped patterns that were populsr in the 19th century. A German reader confirms that patterened long stockings were not common at the turn of the 20th century. The first impage we have noted dates to 1900. It is a portrait of Kurt Malkhe in 1900 who wears long stockings with a simple pattern. These patterened stockings do not seem to have been very common, but we see them more in Germany than other countries. We have another image from the 1930s just before World War II with a more complicated pattern. We do not know when these more complicated patterns first appeared because we see so fe boys wearing them. Perhaps they were more expensive than plain stockings. We see a German boy in 1938 wearing long patterenened long stockings. We also notice them after the War in the 1950s. A good example is a little boy at school in the early 1950s.