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school uniform schoolwear : United States -- individual schools A. F. 1910
Individual U.S. School: Waycross School (1910)
Figure 1.--We believe this cabinet card portrait from Waycross, Georgia was taken about 1909-10 because of enscription on the back. Click on he image to see it. We had trouble making it out. Perhaps you can do netter. The mix of straight-leg knee pants and knickers also help datre it. Knee pants dominated American boyswear for several decacades. Anout 1908 we begin to see knickers which would become nearly universal in the 1910s. This portrait is especially interesting because so many of the children are wearing their caps and hats. .
Here we have a cabinet portrait of a class in Waycross, Georgia. We are not sure what the name of the school was. It could have iust been kniwn as the Waycrioss School, although primariy (elementary) schools often had names. We can see tge buikding in the background. The town was founded just as the South's cotton economy was taking hold (1820). It is located in southeastern Georgiam near the Florida line. The town is known as the 'Headwaters of the Okefenokee'--just to the south of the town is the famed Okefenokee Swamp. The enscription on the back suggests the portrait was taken in 1910, although 1909 is possible. The children seem to be 8 year olds, suggesting that this is a 3rd grade class. The writing is a little indistinct, but one of the boys was apparently born in 1902 and we think he is 8 years old, suggesting the portrait was taken in 1910. As it is hard to read, we could be off a year or two, but not much more. Have a look at the witing and see if you can make out the writing any better. We think 1909-10 is very likely, in part because the boys are wearing both straight-leg knee pants and knickers. Kinckers first appeared in large numbers about 1908 and were virtually universal in the 1910s. An exception was younger boys who to an extent continued to wear knee pants. We think the boy's name is John Franlklin White. This is a particularly interesting image in that the children are ourside weaing their headwear and coats. The girls are wearing hats--sailor styles seem very popular. the boys are wearing suits and caps. Peaked caps (what the British call a school cap) seem the most popular, but we see some flat caps which would become the standard cap in the 1910s. Headwear on the 1900s was mixed. Peaked caps began to taken on social class conmotations in the 1910s while the flat cap likr lnickers became almost universal.
