Figure 1.--Pinafores were mot very common for Dutch boys, at ledadt in the 20th century. . We do note one 1921 photograph which we think is a school photograph. We are entirely sure it is a school photograph, but it seems to have been some kind of institutional photograph rather than family photograph. The children's age I think preclude a father from having this many children in the same age group. Here we are not at all positve. Click on the image to see the rest of the group.

We are not at all sure how to interpret this portrait. We thought at first that it was a school or orphanage group, but as we have studied it, we are not at all sure. We are now more inclined to see it as a family portrait. Pinafores were mot very common for Dutch boys, at least in the 20th century. They were common for girls, but not for boys, especally by the 1920s. We do note one 1921 photograph which we think is a school photograph. We are entirely sure it is a school photograph, but it seems to have been some kind of institutional photograph rather than family photograph. The children's age I think preclude a father from having this many children in the same age group. Here we are not at all positve. I supose some of the children could be twins. The very closely cropped hair suggest that the children are all boys. They look like all boys to us. They look to be about 4-11 years old. All we know for sure is that this photo postcard was taken in 1921.

Pinafores

Pinafores were mot very common for Dutch boys, at least in the 20th century. They were common for girls, but not for boys, especally by the 1920s.

Institution

We do note one 1921 photograph which we think is a school photograph. We are entirely sure it is a school photograph, but it seems to have been some kind of institutional photograph rather than family photograph. The cropped hair has an institutional look to us.

Family

We thought at first that it was a school or orphanage group, but as we have studied it, we are not at all sure. We are now more inclined to see it as a family portrait. We have, however, some difficulties with classifying this as a family portrait. The children's age seem to preclude a father from having this many children in the same age group. Here we are not at all positve. I supose some of the children could be twins. But could one father had so many boys of such a similar age? I supose it is possible, but it seems rather unlikely. Especially as you would think that there would be some girls in the family as well. The way the children are holding hands seems more like a family than a school group.

Clothes

The similarity in clothes seem to be an institutional arrangement, although parents also dressed children in identical outfits. And if this was a family, the pinafores may be the mother's attempt to deal with the laundary problem. Here there seem to be two outfits. The younger children appear to wearing wide-brimmed hats, pinafores, and dark dresses. Only the younger children werar the hats. The older boys appear to be wearing Eton collars, floppy bows (I think red), collar buttoning jackets, and kneepants. All the children seem to be wearing black long stockings.

Religious Community

Could this be a religious community like memmonites.

Gender

The very closely cropped hair suggest that the children are all boys. They look like all boys to us.

Age

They look to be about 4-11 years old. All we know for sure is that this photo postcard was taken in 1921.

Orphanage

This was right after World War I. The Netherlands was neutral in the War, but many Belgian refugees were cared for in the Netherlands. I wonder if the children here could be Belgian war orphans. Of course orphas were not likely to have a portrait tken in a photograohic studio.

Photographic Studio

There is printing on the back which seems to identify the photo graphic studio. It reads: "Foto J.A. Steenmeyer & Zonen; Zwanestraat, (hoek Oude Kijk-in't jatstrasat); Groningen". This means that the photographer had his studio at Zwanestraat corner Oude Kijk-in't Jatstraat in the city of Groningen.

Groningen

Groningen is the town where the portrait was taken. We know nothing about the city at this time.

Regional Dress

This portrait could also be some sort of regional dress. We note that there were areas of the Netherlands in the 1920s where children still wore destinctive regional dress. These were mostly small isolated towns or islands.

Dutch Readers

Hopefully our Dutch readers will be able to tell us more. One Dutch reader writes, "I must admit that I have never seen children dressed like that in Holland. Of course, the picture was taken 7 years before I was born. Fashion changed a lot in the 1920s. I really don't know if these clothes are school uniforms. School uniforms did not exist in the Netherlands. The only exceptions were perhaps the boys in reformatories, who were all dressed in brown corduroy suits. Several boys in the picture seem to be twins. My mother's family is from Groningen."