Figure 1.--This is the earloest image we have of boys wearing Glengarries. It is an American cased Daguerreotype , pottrrait taken in the 1840s around the mid-19th century. It may be surprising that our earliest image of boys wearing Glengarries is American and not Britih. Glengarries were of course more common in Britain, but there are many more American Dags than European Dags. (this has to do with noth th rise if the American ecoinomy and Ruropean patent law.) Cased Dags were largely an American phenomenon. It should not be thought Glengarries were common in America. Dags were expensve. Not as expensive as a painted portrait, but expensive never the less. Thus the early photographic record is havily biased toward the well to do. And the American well-to-do looked to Europe for its fashion sences. Women might look to France, but men and boy's fashions wre heavuily influnced by Britain. This Dag looks like is was was refraned in a new case. /i>

The Glengarry according to one source first appeared in 1805 in Glengarry, Invernesshire, Scotland. Another source Glengarry bonnet is said to have first appeared as the head dress of the Glengarry Fencibles when they were formed (1794). The creator is said to be Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry, of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. [Prebble] What ever the details, the Glengarry appared just before or after the turn-of-the 20th century. It was a military cap for men. We do not know, however, how common the Glengarry was in the early-19th century. We have very little information on the early 19th century. botherr source suggests that the first use of the classic, military Glengarry somewhat later (1841). Itseems to hve been adopted by the the pipers of the 79th Foot by the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lauderdale Maule. The Glengarry became characteristic undress headgear of the Scottish regiments of the British Army (1850s). The Glengarry without a diced border and usually with a feather had been adopted by pipers in all regiments except the 42nd (Black Watch), whose pipers wore the full dress feather bonnet. We are not sure just when boys began wearing the Glengarry. Of course the use of the Glengarry by military uniys helped to widen its appeal among boys. We note an American Dag, probably taken in the 1840s (figure1). Thi would havevbeen at preciseky the time that the British Royal Family was introducing Scottish styles to the general public by dressing the young princes in kilts and other Scottish garb. Three brothers are vall wearing Glengarries. Much more information is avialble on the second half of the century. We suspect boys began wearing it after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert popularized the kilt for English boys. We note one American boy, Gardner Cassatt, in the 1850s wearing a Glengarry without a kilt, although he is wearing a plaid dress or tunic. He of course came from an artistic, fashionanle family. The cap was commonly worn throughout the second half of the 19th century. We have much more information when the CDV apparaered in the 1860s. Thev CDV on the previous page shows two boys out for a walk with their father or grandfather by a castle. We believe it dates to the 1870s. It is probably English, but could be Scottish. French boys also wore the Glengarry with kilt or plaid outfits. We note a French plaid dress from the 1850s or 60s that was worn with a Glengarry. Another American Glengarry from about 1879 is seen above (figure 1). The Glengarry was the headress adopted for for Officers of the Boys' Brigade; namely Warrant Officers, Lieutenants and Brevet Captains.

Sources

Prebble, John. The King's Jaunt (Birlinn Limited: Edinburgh, 2000).