Figure 1.--This Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post" cover" called "Travelling Companions" (May 15, 1920) makes a useful complement to the August cover of the same year. Both covers are interesting, among other things, for the difference in stocking weave. The boy at the fun fair cover (August 28, 1920) wears ribbed black stockings with his above-the-knee knickers, whereas this boy, riding on the train with his puppy dog, wears plain weave black stockings with the same kind of knickers. The boy wears a dress-up knickers suit with an Eton collar and bow tie together with a matching hat into the band of which he has put his railway ticket. I'm not sure whether dogs were allowed in most railway cars in 1920--probably not, which adds to the humor of the boy trying to shush the puppy crawling out of his basket and calling unwanted attention to himself on the part of the other passengers. The boy seems to have put the puppy in a covered basket in order to conceal the fact that he is transporting his pet. One interesting feature of the illustration is the dressy appearance of the boy, who may be on the way to visit an aunt or grandmother. Boys from respectable middle-class families in 1920s dressed up to travel--so unlike today's sloppily dressed boys whom we see everywhere in airports and bus stations in the 21st century. This boy seems to be about 11 or 12 years old--a 7th or 8th-grader. Notice the leather straps around the luggage and the large black umbrella, both interesting indications of the period.

Magazine illustrations are not as difinitive as photographs becaus illustrators for a range of reasons may not be accurately depicting a scene. One illustrator which did draw very accurately was Norman Rockwell. The Rockwell drawings are interesting because he gave sich attention to clothing detail and he worked over several decades. We see a cover drawing of dressed-up children--"Fun Fair" (August 28, 1920). The girl wears flat-weave white long stockings and the boy black ribbed stockings. This seems to be quite an accurate rendering, but looks a liitle more like the 1910s and 20s. This is a not uncommon phenomenon with illustrators who may not be up on the latest fashions. The Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover" (May 15, 1920) makes a useful complement to the August cover of the same year. This illustration is called "Travelling Companions".Both covers are interesting, among other things, for the difference in stocking weave. The boy at the fun fair cover wears ribbed black stockings with his above-the-knee knickers, whereas this boy, riding on the train with his puppy dog, wears plain weave black stockings with the same kind of knickers. This boy wears a dress-up knickers suit with an Eton collar and bow tie. Notice the umbrella. This seems to us that mother has seen him off at the station, surely an indication he is going to visit granny or perhaps an aunt or uncle. I don't think a boy would have taken along an umbrella on his own. Perhaps in Britian, but not in America. Or were attitudes different in the 1920s.