Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
HBC notes that one of our American contributors looking back on his boyhood in the early 1940s has privided some fascinating details about the button-on style that boys wore then as well as many interesting menories about the early 1940s.
HBC was intragued that Bret referred to his Cub cap as a beanie with a short visor. I was a Cub a few years later (1951-54). We no longer wore knickers and I do not recall calling the cap a beanie--although I did not call it a peaked cap as a boy.
HBC find the use of beanie is interesting as an illustration as how terms for these various styles evolve. We thought it would be interesting to provide some HBC links to these varous cap styles, especially as it involves two very important boys' cap styles.
Beanies were probably more familair to most American boys as a popular casual cap while peaked caps were worn by boys from affluent families when dressing up. Of course in Britain they were much more common and worn to school.
The Beanie was a popular cap for boys in the 1920s and 30s, almost exclusively in America. The popularity of the beanie began to decline in popularity during th 1940s. The classic beanie did not have a visor or peak.
HBC would, however, describe the American cub cap as a peaked cap. The word peaked can mean pointed, but also projecting. It is a cap with a viser or bill prohecting out. The term peaked cap is probably more use in Britain than America. It appeared in England during the mid-19th century in association with cricket.
Perhaps becaise of the association with cricket, the peaked cap became widely worn by British school boys.
Probably because of its cricket association, it probably is the inspiration for the American baseball cap.
It has been worn by American boys, often by younger boys or boys from affluent families when wearing suits.
Basen Powell chose the peaked cap for the British Wolf Cub uniform, in part because the style was so widely worn by British boys. The Wolf Cub cap was green with yellow piping. This style and color was adopted for Cubbing in many different countries.
The same peaked caps were adopted by the American Cubs was the same as the original British Wolf Cub caps only in different colors. The American Cub caps were blue, but with the same yellow piping that the British caps had.
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