Figure 1.--The German boys are enjoying the bounty from the first day of school cones. Both boys wear similar sailor suits--perhaps they are brothers and it was the younger boy's first day at school. I assume those are candy cigars. Notice the toy or prhaps even candy gun. This image is undated, but we would guess the early 1920s. |
We have collected several images of German boys on their first day of school. Most are unidentified images, which makes it difficult to track trends. The images do, however, provide quite a bit of information about how younger German boys dressed for school. The boys wore quite a variety of outfits. Most boys were dressed up by their mothers. Other boys appear to have just worn regular school clothes. Sailor suits were a clear favorite in the early 20th century, but boys wore many other styles as well. We are not sure when it became a tradition in Germany to photograph a boy on his first dat of school. We have quite a number of these images from the 1900s through the 1930s. Presumably the tradition began in he 19th century. We have noted, however, realtively few 19th century images. This may simply reflect the fact that our archive of German 19th century images is very limited. Or it may mean mean that the first day portrait was not a well established tradition until the turn of the 20th century. Certainly the appearance of cameras which made family snapshots possible made such portraits much easier to take, but through the 1940s many of these photographs are studio portraits.
We are not sure when it became a tradition in Germany to photograph a boy on his first dat of school. Presumably the tradition began in he 19th century. We have noted, however, realtively few 19th century images. This may simply reflect the fact that our archive of German 19th century images is very limited. By the 1880s the cost of studio portraits had come down substantially. We are unsure just why we have found so few portraits. And so far we have no 19th century portraits with Zuckertute
We have quite a number of these images from the 1900s through the 1930s, but we notice these photographs through to modern tomes. The boys wore quite a variety of outfits. Most boys were dressed up by their mothers. Other boys appear to have just worn regular school clothes. Sailor suits were a clear favorite in the early 20th century. Boys did not alwas wear sailot hats with their sailor suits. But boys wore many other styles as well. The outfits become more casual after World War II, especially by the 1960s. As far as we can tell the first day portrait was not a well established tradition until the turn of the 20th century. Certainly the appearance of cameras which made family snapshots possible made such portraits much easier to take, but through the 1940s many of these photographs are studio portraits. We note the Zuckertute throughout the 20th century.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main Chronology Page]
[The 1880s]
[The 1890s]
[The 1900s]
[The 1910s]
[The 1920s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main Germab first school day page]
[Main country page]
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer
[School sandals]
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