Figure 1.--Only two boys in the first year class at this Orish school in 1966 wore short trousers with their school uniform. The photographer used them rather like bookends.
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Figure 1.--Only two boys in the first year class at this Orish school in 1966 wore short trousers with their school uniform. The photographer used them rather like bookends. |
Many schools had regulations about short and long trousers. At some schools they were optional. At other scools they were required or prohibited. Many schools had both long and short trousers, but rules such as age, class or height as to who should wear shorts as longs. As a result in school or even class (form) pofrtraits, there are often boys wearing both short and long tousers. In many school photographs the boys in shorts are scattered randomly througout the photograph. Some photographers, usually in England or Ireland, thephotographer has grouped the boys in shorts together in some pattern to apparently "ballance" the photograph. Often in school photographs the younger boys in shorts are at the front. This is only logical, as the younger boys are shorter and thus logically should be at the front. We notice the placement of boys in shorts, however, in some class portrairs when the boys are all the same age. We are not sure what the boys involved thought about this, but they were probably not to pleased.
School photographers had a number of options when setting up the school photograph. Normally the younger shorter boys were put in the front. At schools without uniforms this had little impact on the pirtrait. Schools with unifrms were a bit different, but still it had little impact as the boys were all dressed alike. Some schools had different regulations for the younger boys, but as they were all at the front, again it did not unballance the poertrait.
Figure 2.--Only one boy in the second year class at this Irish school in 1967 wore short trousers with their school uniform. The photographer has palced him in the middle of the photograph. He is the boy at the right in the 1966 school photograph. |
Many schools had regulations about short and long trousers. At some schools they were optional. At other scools they were required or prohibited. Many schools had both long and short trousers, but rules such as age, class or height as to who should wear shorts as longs. As a result in school or even class (form) pofrtraits, there are often boys wearing both short and long tousers. In many school photographs the boys in shorts are scattered randomly througout the photograph.
Some photographers, usually in England or Ireland, thephotographer has grouped the boys in shorts together in some pattern to apparently "ballance" the photograph. We have not yet noted in this in other countries, but it may have been also used by photographers elsewhere.
Often in school photographs the younger boys in shorts are at the front. This is only logical, as the younger boys are shorter and thus logically should be at the front. We notice the placement of boys in shorts, however, in some class portrairs when the boys are all the same age.
We are not sure what the boys involved thought about this. It is likely that if most of the boys in a class are wearing long trousers that the boys in shorts probably wear them because their parents insisted. Thus they more than likely are not to pleased about it. Thus it is unlikely that the photographer drew attention tomyheir uniform by using it to draw attention to them.
Figure 3.--This emlargement of the second year class in 1967 shows the one boy still wearing short trousers placed at the center of the photograph. He does not look like he was too pleased with his prominamce. |
An Irish reader points out one such example to us at his Dublin school, St Mary's, during the 1960s. He remembers two boys in 1966 that were the only two boys wearing short trousers in the first form class. They were used rather like book ends in the 1966 first form portrait. He reports that they were not to comfortable te idea. He writes, "Look at this first year picture from 1966. Especially the boy seated on the ground to the extreme right. At least he has one other mate in shorts, seated on the extreme left. The next picture is of the same class, 1 year later. the same boy is all on his own, neatly positioned in the centre. On close-up the boy clearly doesn't look at all happy about his uniform and having to be in the front row, not to mention the center. Given that these class pictures were taken at the end of each school year in May, we can assume that he was probably in shorts until at least September 1967 when he was prbably 14 or maybe even 15 years of age."
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