Figure 1.--This boy looks to be about 5 years old. We had at first thought that he had not yet started school--but here we are not positive. The image is undated, but HBC would estimate about 1915. This portrait did not have a city on it, but an address which said "Blankplatz". I'm not sure what city that would have been. Image courtesy of the RG collection. |
This boy looks to be about 5 years old. We had at first thought that he had not yet started school--which looks to be the case. We are positive, however, as to wht is written on the slat. The image is undated, but HBC would estimate about 1915. This portrait had an address which said "Blankplatz". That is a town near Helmstedt. Interestingly, this portrait has resulted in considerable discussion among HBC readers, both German readers and readers in other countries.
This boy looks to be about 5 years old. That is, however, only a gues on our part.
The image is undated. We are not sure at all about the date of this portrait. HBC would estimate about 1915, primarily because he is wearing short pants rather than kneepants and long stockings. It could very well be the early 1920s--but the boy's long hair we believe argue against this.
This portrait did not have a city on it, but an address which said "Blankplatz". The photographer was Georg Meyer, Braunschweig, Bankplatz 3. A German reader writes about the location, "In my KlickTel there is only one Bankplatz --in Braunschweig (Helmstedt is not far away from Braunschweig)."
This boy has long uncurled hair. This is relatively rare. Most German images we have noted at this time have boys with short or even gropped hair. Another popular style was bangs with short hair rather than bangs with long hair like this boy has. Such long hair was becoming less common in the 1910s. This was true in America, England, and France where it was more common for boys to have long hair. A boy with such long hair was much less common in Germany.
We had at first thought that he had not yet started school--but here we are not positive. We note, however, that this is very similar to images of boys on their first day of school who had similar slates in their portraits. We note he does not have a gift cone like many, but not all, German children.
A HBC German HBC reader examined the image very carefully. She writes, "I was thinking about on which occassion this picture could have been made. There is a slate board with some words written on it next to the boys feet
on the right. I have problems to read it for it is not very sharp and some words seem to be cut (Looks like: "Meiner ersten ..." meaning "My first ..."). Do you have a better scan of this text? I don't know if you have people who already translated it for you. I am familiar with old German handwriting which is quite different from script used today." After examining the original image, our reader writes, "Sorry I still have problems with the script on the board. Now I am sure it is not first schoolday. Might PERHAPS be the first Hose, which means trousers. So the boy may have been breeched. But I have never seen a photography with a board announcing this occassion before. I need a higher solution of the script to be sure." Another HBC reader writes, "Realy this scan is not enough clear to read it. Though, it seems to say, "Meiner Ersten ..." This would seem to mean "For first school ...?" It is gothic writing."
Despite the slate inscription, HBC is surprised that a boy would have worn such long hair to school. A French reader writes, "Yes it seems rather strange. The boy seems to be more Kindergarden age than the first year of primary school." Also we have never seen a school photograph with boys wearing long hair like this. More commonly German boys have cropped hair. Thus the occassion of being breeched would seem most likely.
A German reader writes that "With regard to the text on the blackboard it seems to say "Meine ersten Hosen", my first pants. The script is not Sütterlin as I used to write in 1939, but the so called Deutsche Schrift (German script), therefor the H is different
from Sütterlin. The boy seems to be too young for his first school day. It seems to be around easter because of the chocolade bunny that he carries. Do you know what the picture is on his shirt? It is an army sentry-box." After examining the origianl image, he reports, "I am sure it reads "Meine ersten Hosen". It was not uncommon in those days to take a photograph with the first pants of a boy, to celebrate this event." [HBC note: Note that our German readees disagtee as to how common this was.] This is the only image that HBC has ecer seen with this written on a slate, but we still have a realtively small number of German images. Perhaps photographing a boy after breeching was common, but not the slate announcement.
Not all of our European readers are convinced that this is not a first day of school portrait. One reader writes, "I am sure that what has been written on the board at the feet of the boy refers to his first schoolday and not to new trousers or anything like that, because I clearly can read the beginning of the word Schule. In German script I can see the first 4 letters and they are "schu". The rest is not visible. I am not sure about the very first words. They indeed look like "meine(r)? ersten". There must be something else in front of these words however (invisible in the photo) on account of the grammar that is being used.
German is very complicated. The spelling of words changes constantly, all
depending on how they are used in a sentence."
A Dutch reader writes, "We should also use common sense. Why would anybody advertise that this little boy was wearing his first trousers? One would assume that he was wearing dresses before! I don't think so, even when his hair was longer than that of a girl. Sometimes it might have been a joyous occasion for a boy to wear his first LONG pants, but that usually would happen when he became about 14 or 15 years old.
Of course, it is also possible that the whole picture is some kind of a
joke and the sign really was meant for an older brother of this little boy."
We know that in the late 19th and early 20th century that it was common for a portrait to be taken when a boy was breeched or his curls cut. We have many such portraits of Americn boys. We have fewer such images of German boys, but believe that similar portrits were taken. What we have not noted before is a slate indicating that a boy's curl have been cut or that he is wearing his first pair of pants. we have noted these slates indicating the first day of school, but this is primarily a German custom.
Now as to common sence. Here we have to seperate what might beseen as commonsence today and what was seen as common sence in the 1910s. Also given the boy's long hair, especially in Germany where long hair for a boy was unusual, we are rather disposed to think that this boy's mother was not overly gifted with common sence. But we stress assessing what was common sence in the 1910s requirs a very different viewpoint than common sence in the 2000s.
The first day of school was a major event for school children. Parens dressed the children up and often accompanied them to school. Many childen received gift cones. HBC readers may want to see how boys were dressed fortheir first day of school.
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