Figure 1.-- We note a lot of boys beginning in the mid-19th century wearing hats with shallow rounded crowns. This was probably the most common headwear styles during the mid-19th century. This boy was from St. Albans, Vermont. The portrait is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1870s.

We note a variety of American headwear stles in the 1870s. Age was an important factor. There continued to be some elaborate styles for infants and todlers. These styles do not seem to be gender specific. We are not sure how to describe some of the headwear, many of which seem to be designed to keep the younger children warm. We see a tin-type of two unidentified children, we think in the 1870s. We see somewhat older American boys wearing caps in the 1870s, but hats as far as we can tell, based on the photographic record , the rounded-crown hat continued to be the most common headwear. We still see many boys wearing a variety of hats with rounded crowns. Both the crowns and the brims varied leading to a variety of hat styles. The first specialized children's hat was probably the wide-brimmed sailor hat made popular in England and worn by American boys. We are not sure when they first appered in America, but we note them by the 1870s and they were worn through the early 20th century. These rounded-crown hats were not the most stylish type, but they were the most coimmon. We note a number of fashionable headwear styles in the 19th century. A good example are the Glengary and sailor caps shown in a 1878 fashion magazine. These styles seem to have been worn by younger boys from fashionable families. These fancy styles do not appear to have been as wideky worn as the rounded-crown hats. We noyice an unidentified boy with a broad-brimmed straw hat, we think in the 1870s.

Created: 12:38 AM 8/3/2007
Last updated: 5:34 PM 1/29/2016