|
The James Campbell High School was an impressive building in Philadelphia built (1899). It was a six story brick building, probably also a basement. I'd hate to have to go from a class on the first to sixth floor. All we know about the school, however, was that it was a public school and when it operated. The building was huge, it seems very large for a school. It looks more like a corporate headqarters. And the images we have suggest a small school, at least some of them. Others do look like class portraits. The school may have closed in 1924 or that was the last of the images. Unfortunastely, we are not sure who James Cambell was. We note a James Campbell High School in Hawaii. He was an Irish immigrant who was a sugar cane industrialist who became the largest land owner in Hawaii. We are not sure just who the Philadelia James Campbell was, perhaps the same as the one on Hawaii because the school was built at the same time the United States annexed the islands. We are not sure about the connection. We have found several images from the 1910s. The images show the boys wearing knickers suits with black long stockings, at least the younger boys we can see at the front. The girls also wore black long stockings. The younger boys would be 9th graders, meaning boys about 14 years old. The girls wear middy blouses and scarves. It all looks rather like uniforms. This was not very common at American High Schools. It was probably more like a dress code requiring the boys to wear suits with no special instructions, although some of the portraits show miostly dark suits. We are not sure about the pants. The middy blouses do look rather like a uniform, but there are differences and some of the girls wear regular blouses. And hair bows varied widely. We are not sure that was the everyday uniform or just for the school portrait. The images show a range of ages, so we are not sure that they are class groups. Unfortunstely there is no informastion accomopanying the images. One images is dated to 1916 and because all the portraits we have found show similar clothing, the portraits all seem to date to the 1910s.
The James Campbell High School was an impressive building in Philadelphia built (1899). It was a six story brick building, probbkly also a basement. I'd hate to have to go from a class on the first to sixth floor. All we know about the school, however, was that it was a public school and when it operated. The building was huge, it seems very large for a school. It looks more like a corporate headqarters. And the images we have suggest a small school, at least some of them. Others do look like class portraits.
The James School High School opened at the turn of the 20th century (1900). The images that we have found all show the students dressed in the sanme way. The boys wear knicker suits. The girls wear whte middies and other white blouses. Many have hair bows. Both boys and girls wear black long stockings. The similarity of dress suggest thastv they were taken at about thec same time. These were common styles in the 1910s. And one portrait is fatred to February 1910. So we think to say that they were all taken in the mid-1910s. The school may have closed in 1924 or that was the last of the images. So we are talking about about something like three decades in the early-20th centutry.
Unfortunastely, we are not sure who James Cambell was. We note a James Campbell High School in Hawaii. He was an Irish immigrant who was a sugar cane industrialist who became the largest land owner in Hawaii. We are not sure just who the Philadelia James Campbell was, perhaps the same as the one on Hawaii because the school was built at the same time the United States annexed the islands. We are not sure about the connection.
An American high school is a secondary school with a 4 year program, the 9th-12 grades. There are some differences because some states had junior high schools (7th-9th grades). The 4 year program mean youths of about 14-19 years of age.
American public schools were almost entirely coed schools. This was the case in both primary and secondary schools. At the time in Europe, most secondary schoiols were snle gender schools. We notice one portrait that was an all male group including a few boys from all ofv the different grades and the teachers. We are not sure just what the group was. We thought perhaps an honor society, but girls we don't think would hve been excluded from that.
The photographer was the Smith Studio, 501 South Street, Philadelphia. They are cabinet cards measuring about 12 x 14 inches with a photo about 8 x 10 inches. These are large cards with decorative mounts. Unfortunastely there is no inscription on the back telling us anything about the portrait. Unlike the 19th century, th cabinet card was only a part of the photograophic record. The 1920s was the last decade thatvthe cabinet card was an imprtant tyoe of photograophy. The mounts have framing isung embossing and color.
While we do not know much about the school, the availble images do priovide information on schoolwear. We have found several images from the 1910s. The images show the boys wearing knickers suits with black long stockings, at least the younger boys we can see at the front. Knickers were standard for Ametrican boys in the 1910s. The girls also wore black long stockings. The younger boys would be 9th graders, meaning boys about 14 years old. The girls wear middy blouses and scarves. It all looks rather like uniforms. This was not very common at American High Schools. It was probably more like a dress code requiring the boys to wear suits with no special instructions, although some of the portraits show mostly dark suits. We are not sure about the pants. Even older boys might wear knickers, or knee pants as were commion in the 1900s decade. By the 1910s, most older teens were wearing long pants, but this varied from family to family. Unfortinstely, with the portraits we haver, the older boys are at the back so we don't get to see the pants that they are wearing. The middy blouses do look rather like a uniform, but there are differences and some of the girls wear regular blouses. And hair bows varied widely. We are not sure that was the everyday uniform or just for the school portrait. The images show a range of ages, so we are not sure that they are class groups. Unfortunstely there is no informastion accomopanying the images. One images is dated to 1916 and because all the portraits we have found show similar clothing, the portraits all seem to date to the 1910s.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main Chronology Page]
[The 1900s]
[The 1910s]
[The 1920s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
[The 1990s]
[The 2000s]
Navigate the Relate Boys Historical Clothing Style Pages
[First Communion]
[Confirmation]
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Kneepants]
[Knickers]
[Kneesocks]
[Long stockings]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Button-on clothing]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]
[Bangs]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing School Uniform Pages
[Return to the Main U.S. individual A-G school page]
[Return to the Main U.S. individual school page]
[Return to the Main U.S. individual school chronology page]
[Return to the Main National School Uniform Page]
[Australia]
[England]
[France]
[Germany]
[Ireland]
[Italy]
[Japan]
[New Zealand]
[Poland]
[Singapore]
[Scotland]
[Singapore]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Color]
[Countries]
[Girls]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
