Figure 1.--This German boy was photographed in 1932. Note the candel he carries with a fake flame. Many German boys were photographed with these candels. The fourth boy also has a short hair cut with a left part. He wears a dark double-breasted jacket with wide lapels. He wears a white shirt with a wing collar and what looks like a kind of bow tie. A caption at the bottom of the card read, "Memory of the first holy communion". (Andeken an die erste heilige Kommunion.) This was a less religious greeting than on some of the other cards. Image courtesy of the MD collection. Click on the image to view the back of the card.

This Boy

Outfit

The fourth boy also has a short hair cut. While short, it is not cropped and there is enough to comb. He has a left part. He wears a dark double-breasted jacket with wide lapels. The jacket seems to have rather large buttons. He wears a white shirt with a wing collar and what looks like a kind of bow tie. He appears to be wearing very long short pants as I do not see the three buttons at the hem generally associated with kneepants. appears to be wearing kneepants, but they do not have the normal three-button hem trim. The pants are quite long, extending well over his knee. He wears dark long over-the-knee stockings with old fashioned looking high-top shoes. He has a white handkerchief in his breast pocket.

First Communion Items

As was common in Germany, he has the large candel with his rossary and Bible. This boy also has a flower corsage.

Reader comments

One reader notes, "It appears as if this suit may have been purchased for the occasion or at least the knee pants were. The pants seems overly large while the jacket appears just right."

Background

This card is addressed to "Herrn Adolf Fecher, Offenburg, Humboldtstr." The message reads, "Sendet Familie Eger", Which means sent by the Eger family. The cancelation has the same legend as the first card.

1932 Portraits

In the case of this portrait we happen to know not only when it was taken, but we know how this boys' friends were dressed. The image is a photo postcard, several of which were sent to the same boy and are post marked in 1932. Presumably friends in Germany exchanged their First Communion portraits with each other. It is interesting to note the similarities and differences among the suits the boys wear. The boys mostly wear old fashioned wing collars. One boy wears a sailor suit. The boys except for one wear short pants suits. All of the boys with short pants wear dark long stockings, although kneesocks had become much more common for boys this age. The boys look about 12-14 years old. The long stockings are not worn for warmth, but here appear to be considered more formal and appropriate for church than kneesocks. These photographs show not only what boys wore to their First Communions at the time, but a German boy's best dress suit in 1932. These were clearly not suits bought just for First Communion, but rather suits that were meant to be worn for best.

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Created: June 9, 2002
Last edited: June 11, 2002