Figure 1.--These German school boys were photographed in the early 1870s, which would be after German unification. (The image is undated, but the boys were born in 1863-64.) We are not sure where in Germany. Note that the military-styled peak cap was wdely worn, but not as part of a uniform. Most boys wearit, but it was not requird. Click on the image to see the rest of the class. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

HBC at this time has only limited chronological information. This is certainly a style derived from military uniforms. We think it wa worn in the Napoleonic Wars. Itcerainly was a style worn by American soldiers in the Mexican Americn War. As is so often the case, military styles have influenced boys' wear. The earliest images we have show boys wearing thse peaked caps in the 1860s. We believe, however, that they were worn in the 1850s or even earlier. English boys wore the style during the early Victorian era. German images from the 1870s show boys wearing them. We believe they wer worn much earlier in Germany. They appear to have been very commonly worn, but not as part of a uniform. They may even have been required in Prussia, but this we can not yet confirm. Many of the images we note are German, but we believe they were worn in other European countries as well. They were adopted by the Japanese for school uniforms, but we are not sure precisely when. We note manu German boys ering them in the late 19th centutry. We also note them after the turn of the 20th century, but less commonly. We have not noted them being worn in Europe and Germany after the 1920s. After this these caps were mostly worn only in Japan. Japanese boys still wear them as part of a uniform in the 2000s.

Created: January 26, 2003
Last updated: January 26, 2003