Figure 1.--This American boy had rounded front bangs, a straight cut was more common. He is Lloyd Buteau, son of Henry and Maud Buteau. He was photographed on a chair, probanly in the family's back yard. He has a peaked cap with a very small peak. He also wears a striped blouse without a notable collar, knickers, long stockings, and low-cut shoes. He looks to be about 11-years old, perhaps 12 years. The CYKO postcard back snap shot is undated. We would guess, however based on the clothes that it was taken about 1910. CYKO postcards began in 1904 son it could not have been earlier. Knickers were not common in the 1910s unytil abouy 1908-09. Flat caps became standard in the 1910s.

We notice boys wearing a variety of cloth peaked caps with rounded crowns. We are not yet sure about the chronology. They appeared in Britain in the mid-19th century. We do not know precisely when they appeared in America. We have found one examples from the 1860s, but they do not seem very common. We also notice a few American examples in the 1870s, but with undated images. Our American archive is fairly extensive, so we think it is fairly safe to say they were not very common. We suspect that they were primarily adopted by mothers following British fashion trends. We definutely see them in the 1890s with dated portraits. they may have appeared earlier. They were even worn with Fauntleroy suits--one of several different headwear styles. They were popular in the 1890s and 1900s, but only one of a varity of caps. We see both working-class boys and boys from affluent families waring them. We see a few boys wearing these cap to school in the early-20th century. The peaked cap declined in popularity during the 1910s, especially as a casual cap style, with older school-age boys. We see boys wearing peaked caps as a casual style in the 1910s, but it was not as common as in the 1900s. Increasingly American boys began wearing flat caps which became virtully universal in the 1920s. We no longer see boys wearing peajked caps as a casual style in the 1920s. The peaked cap did not disappear, rather it became a formal cap worn by younger boys, often with Eton suits. It is at this time both age and social class comventions developed. The age conventions were essentially the same as those for Eton suits. A good example is Stephen Jones, a Baltimore boy in 1949. The peaked cap was also the style chosen for the new Boys Scout Cub movement (1930). It was copied from the British Cub uniform, although in different colors. The poeaked cap continued to be worn by younger boys with Eton suits into the 1970s.

The 19th Century

We notice boys wearing a variety of cloth peaked caps with rounded crowns. We are not yet sure about the chronology. They appeared in Britain in the mid-19th century. We do not know precisely when they appeared in America. They were not very common until the end of the century. We have found one example from the 1860s, an unidentified boyfrom Bangor, Maine. Our American archive is fairly extensive and we believe we would have found more if they had been very popular. As best we can tell, they do not seem very common. We also notice a few American examples in the 1870s, but with undated images. Our American archive is fairly extensive, so we think it is fairly safe to say they were not very common. We suspect that they were primarily adopted by mothers following British fashion trends. We definutely see them in the 1890s with dated portraits. they may have appeared earlier. They were even worn with Fauntleroy suits--one of several different headwear styles. They were popular in the 1890s and 1900s, but only one of a varity of caps. We have found a number of examples from the 90s.

The 20th Century

We see both working-class boys and boys from affluent families waring peaked caps in America during the early-20th century. We see a few boys wearing these cap to school. Some of the peaks (bills) seem very small such as the one the boy here is wearing (figure 1). The peaked cap declined in popularity during the 1910s, especially as a casual cap style, with older school-age boys. We see boys wearing peaked caps as a casual style in the 1910s, but it was not as common as in the 1900s. Increasingly American boys began wearing flat caps which became virtully universal in the 1920s. They had peaks, but with a flat rather than a roubnded crown.We no longer see boys wearing the tradutional peaked caps as a casual style in the 1920s. The peaked cap did not disappear, rather than the conventions surrounding it cahanged. It became a formal cap worn by boys fromm affluent famillies. Gradually it became more associated with younger boys. Itvwas often, but not exclusively worn with Eton suits. It might even match the suits. It is at this time both age and social class conventions developed. The age conventions were essentially the same as those for Eton suits. A good example is Stephen Jones, a Baltimore boy in 1949. The peaked cap was also the style chosen for the new Boys Scout Cub movement (1930). It was copied from the British Cub uniform, although in different colors. We still see boys wearing peaked caps into the 1960s as a kind of dress-up cap with a suit. After the 60s we rarely see school-age boys wearing these caps. The peaked cap continued to be worn by younger boys with Eton suits into the 1970s.

Created: 10:59 PM 6/29/2013
Last updated: 2:10 AM 1/24/2014