Figure 1.--This German boy wears an army-styled peaked cap. I'm not sure what the color was. One observer suggests the photograph was taken in 1926. The cap might have been worn then, but the boy's kneepants suit looks to us like the photograph was taken before or during World War I.

We see many boys wearing army-style peaked cap. Younger boys wore them with a wide variety of outfits, including sailor suits. Older boys commonly wore them with suits. These may be, however, popular cap styles rather than caps required by schools. German boys have not worn uniforms like boys in England. Some schools, however, required boys to wear caps as early as the 1880s. Bavaria's (Mad) King Ludwig in 1880 founded a second classical school of higher education ("Gymnasium") in and named the the "Royal New Gymnasium". Reports suggest that the 270 boys in the school were proud of their scarlet school cap. One study explains that school caps showed through colour the school type the pupil belonged to (today Gymansium, Realschule etc). They also showed grade he was in, and even his progress, by different coloured ribbons around their caps. The colours of a Gymansium at Jena (to which the brother of the author went to) were also mentioned. [Ossowski and Rösler] We have noted different colored caps, both dark and light colors. I'm not sure what color the cap shown here might have been (figure 1). We see boys just befinning school wearing these caps as well as older boys. I think with younger boys they were just wearing it as a style of school headwear rather than a required school cap. There are numerous images archived on HBC showing German school boys wearing these caps.

Description

We see many German boys wearing army-style peaked cap. The basic style was remarkably similar over more than a century. It had a flat top and elevated sides with a leather peak or bill. There were vriations in both the elevation of the sides and the size of the peak. There were also great variations in the colors of the caps. This helped identify both the boys'school and the form (grade).

Chronology

Peaked military caps first appeared in the early-19th century. We are not sure just when, but it was sometime after the Napoleonic wars, we think by the 1830s. It wa clearly a military style adopted from the Napoleonic Wars. This needs to be confirmed. We see then being worn when large numbers of photographic portraits first become available through CDVs (1860s). We hve een more informatin when amateur photographyvad the snap shot provide us more informal images (1900). They were still being worn in Germny in the 1930s before Woeld war II. We do not see very many during the War. We no longer see them after World War II (1945). We are not entirely sure why they were disconinued, perhsps because they had a military look.

Outfits

We see numerous portraits abd snapshots of German boys wearing these military-stle caps with school clothes. Younger boys wore these peaked military-tyle caps with a wide variety of outfits. Sailor suits were very popular, boy were just one of the many styles of outfits worn. The caps for these younger boys were just a popular style, not a cap the school required a boy to wear. As a result the cap had no real relastionship to the outfit the boys wore. The cap was more of an army style while many of the boys wore sailor suits. The resulting look is destinctively German, although some Scandinavian boys seem to also worn similsr caps and outfits. Older boys attending secondaty schools commonly wore them with suits. And in this case they were specufic caps designated by the scholls for the boys to wear. German boys did not wear school uniforms, but these caps served as a kind of school uniform at specific schools, mostly secondary schools.

School Rules

Some schools, but not all seem to have had rules about these caps. These military styled caps were such a standard style that they were worn even when not required by a school. This was the case especially at primary schools. So we see boys wearing caps with stylistic and color differences. Thus at these schools the military peaked cap was just a popular cap styles rather than a uniform cap required by schools. German boys have not worn uniforms like boys in England. Some schools, however, required boys to wear caps as early as the 1880s, probably earlier. Bavaria's (Mad) King Ludwig in 1880 founded a second classical school of higher education ("Gymnasium") in and named the the "Royal New Gymnasium". Boys there wore these caps. We think that it was mostly in secondary schools that these caps were required. We see many secondary schools with boys wearing these caps. There were differences at the same schools with boys in different grades (Forms/years) wearung different colored bands. I'm not sure how strict the rules ere about boys wearing these caps. We think many boys wore them because they were proud of their school. Some schools may have insisted. ther schools appear to have been less strict. The rules seemed to hsave varied from school to school and over time. They were no longer required after World War II.

Colors

Reports suggest that the 270 boys in the school were proud of their scarlet school cap. One study explains that school caps showed through colour the school type the pupil belonged to (today Gymansium, Realschule etc). They also showed grade he was in, and even his progress, by different coloured ribbons around their caps. The colours of a Gymansium at Jena (to which the brother of the author went to) were also mentioned. [Ossowski and Rösler] We have noted different colored caps, both dark and light colors. I'm not sure what color the cap shown here might have been (figure 1).

Age

We see boys of all ages wearing these school caps. We see very young boys just beginning school wearing these caps as well as older boys in secondary school. I think with younger boys they were just wearing it as a style of school headwear rather than a required school cap. There are numerous images archived on HBC showing German school boys wearing these caps. A good example is a group of secondary school boys in 1926. Notice that usually younger boys wear the caps mostly in individual portraits. We see groups of older boys wearing the caps. This means it was style set and even required by the school.

Sources

Ekkehard Ossowski and Winfried Rösler. Ed., Kindheit: Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven zu einem Forschungsgegenstand.

Created: 1:15 AM 8/6/2004
Last updated: 5:30 AM 4/16/2017