Figure 1.-- This cabinet card family was taken in Schönberg, Germany about 1910. The studio was Atelier Gülzer. The girls hold active items, a badmitton racquet and hoop. The little boy holds a toy horse.

Both boys and girls played with hoops. This is probably the case from an early point, although metal until the modern age was a very expensive item. The barrel seems to be European in origin and dates back to antiquity. It is a little difficult to say with any certainty if hoops were more popular with boys or girls. The basic principle is that boys were more active and more likely to engage in outdoor, active activities. Thus hoops were probably more popular with boys. The hoop was an especially common prop in old photographs. Perhaps because they were by the 19th century inexpensive and popular, many 19th century photographers kept them handy in the studio. It is probably somewhat more likely to be a boy, but their use by both boys and girls. The photographic records shows both boys and girls posing with hoops. This means that the hoop is not a good indicator. Hoops were popular toys throughout the 19th century. This was because barrels were so common at the time. Thus hoops were very commonly available. They were commonly used in photographic portraits. They seem especially common from about 1870-1910, but HBC needs to refine the chronology here as our archive expands. We seem both in Europe and North America.

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Created: 8:36 PM 8/17/2011
Last updated: 8:36 PM 8/17/2011