Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified Maine boy wearing a matching peaked cap with a a tunic suit. Note the button top. The cap seems larger than more modern caps. This is one of the earliest examples we ahve note of peaked caps in America. The CDV portrakit is undated, but we would estiamate it was taken around 1866-70. Click on the image to see the boy's entire outfit.

We notice boys wearing a variety of cloth peaked caps with rounded crowns. We are not yet sure about the chronology. They appeared in Britain in the mid-19th century. We do not know precisely when they appeared in America. They were not very common until the end of the century. We have found one example from the 1860s, an unidentified boy from Bangor, Maine. Our American archive is fairly extensive and we believe we would have found more if they had been very popular. As best we can tell, they do not seem very common. In Britain it as a kind of sports cap. In America at the time it was more of a dress cap. We also notice a few American examples in the 1870s, but with undated images. Our American archive is fairly extensive, so we think it is fairly safe to say they were not very common. We suspect that they were primarily adopted by mothers following British fashion trends. We definutely see them in the 1890s with dated portraits. they may have appeared earlier. They were even worn with Fauntleroy suits--one of several different headwear styles. They were popular in the 1890s and 1900s, but only one of a varity of caps. We have found a number of examples.

The 1860s

We notice boys wearing a variety of cloth peaked caps with rounded crowns. We are not yet sure about the chronology. They appeared in Britain in the mid-19th century. We do not know precisely when they appeared in America. They were not very common until the end of the century. We have found one example from the 1860s, an unidentified boy from Bangor, Maine. Our American archive is fairly extensive and we believe we would have found more if they had been very popular. As best we can tell, they do not seem very common. In Britain it as a kind of sports cap. In America at the time it was more of a dress cap.

The 1870s

We also notice a few American examples in the 1870s, but with undated images. Our American archive is fairly extensive, so we think it is fairly safe to say they were not very common. We suspect that they were primarily adopted by mothers following British fashion trends.

The 1880s

Caps were becoming increasingly popular in the late-19th century. We see different styles, but the cap that seems most popular was the peaked cap. We do not yet see the flat cap. While we have archived many many petinent images, unfortunately most are undated and we can only estimate the date. We see photographs with boys wearing peaked caps, we think in the 1880s. The nice thing about internet publishing is that we can always adjust our dateestumates if readers add additional information. We hope to find confirming dated images. We still see the rounded crown hats tht were so popular in the 19th century, but we even see peaked caps in rural areas by the 1880s.

The 1890s

We definitely see peaked caps in the 1890s with dated portraits. We see a number of portraits in the 890s of boys wearing these caps. They were always solid colord caps. They were, however, just one of a wide range of different styles, including hats that today are more associated with adult men. And were in no way a dominant style. The peaks were often quite small. We note boys wearing these caps as a dress cap. They were even worn with Fauntleroy suits--one of several different headwear styles. They were popular in the 1890s and 1900s, but only one of a varity of caps. We have found a number of examples. We also see boys wearing these peaked caps with the sack suits wirn by school age boys, even younger teenafers. THey were not a destictively school style as in Britain. Some images show boys rather elegantly dressed with suits wearing these caps. Some seem to match the suit. This is a little difficult to tell with black and white photography. This was not always the case. Some boys wore them to school. We see other boys wearing them on more cassual occassions, although family snapshots were still limited in the 1890s.

Created: 6:44 PM 12/2/2013
Last updated: 7:43 AM 12/21/2014