Figure 1.--Here we see a commercial postcard depicting a gardening scene. We think it is a lithograph rather than a hand-colored postcard. The publisher was P & K. It was mailed with a green half-penny stamp. Half penny stamps were first used for post cards (1894), but this one pictures King Gerorge V which means since it was mailed in February that it could not have been mailed before 1911 and cold have been mailed as late as the early War period (1914 or 15). A stamp collector tells us, "I checked the stamp in my Scott Stamp Catalog and it was issued in 1911 and reissued in 1912. A new set with a different portrait of George V was issued in 1912." It is postmarked and it seems to be dated February 1912, although the date is indistinct, but fits right in with the stamp. Put your cursor on the image to see the message and post mark on the back. Note the sandals done with straps set at angles. That is a style we only note before the War.

We see British children wearing sandals done in a range of styles. There are two basic kinds of sandals: closed and open-toe sandals. The most common type was the closed toe sandals. They came in both single and double bar styles. And in the early-20th century we seen sdandls with straps dome at an angle. The single bar sandal ws worn in the late-19th century, but more as atrap shoe than a sandal. We see younger boys wearing them as both a sandal and atrap shoe in the early-20th century. sandals with a center strap became popular for schoolwear. We note them sobe with one single ahd diuble vars. The sungle bar or what Americans would call a T-strap shoe were the most common. They were commonly worn for decades. The sandals with the side center strap were much preferred by boys. Girls did nor wear them. We note styles appearing in the 1960s with the center strap widening, giving more the appearance of a shoe. There were also open-toe sandals which became popular after World War II, although more for adults than children. As far as we can see, open-toe sandals wee not very common in England. Some called them Roman sandals. A few schools adopted them for summer wear. The closed-toe sandal remained the dominant style at school. For leisure wear boys generally prferred sneakers, called trainers in Britain, to sandls.

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Created: 7:45 AM 4/17/2012
Last updated: 10:20 AM 4/17/2012