Figure 1.--This unidentified boy was photographed at Blazier, Lebanon, Pennsylvania. This is a rare informnal portrait with the jacket unbuttoned. The boy wears a hat. This was common in the 19th century, but after the turn-of-the century when this portrait was taken, caps were more common. The portrait was one of the new styles of cabinent cards. The mounting board was 10 1/2" x 6 7/8". The size of the actual photo was 5 1/2" x 3 7/8".

We see a variety of headwear worn with Norfolk suits, primarily because headwear styles changed during the long period that Norfolk styling was popular. At this time we are unsure about the headwear boys wore with Norfolk suits during the 19th century. We think various types of hats werre most common, but this needs to be confirmed. We know much more about the 20th century. We mostly notice boys wearing caps after the turn-of-the centuryin the 20th century. There were a variety of caps in the 1900s, but by the 1910s, flat caps were standard wear for American boys. In sharp contrast to the variety of caps worn in the 1900s, we rarely see other styles in the 1910s and 20s. So we see numerous images of boys wearing flat caps with Norfolk suits. The flast cap and Norfolk suits became a caracature of school boys during the early-20th cerntury. Hats were also worn, but the photographic record suggests that they were not very common.

Created: 10:07 PM 7/11/2010
Last updated: 10:07 PM 7/11/2010