Figure 1.--This pre-World War I postcard shows German children playing Blindman's Bluff. A girl wears a dress. A boy wears a sailor blouse and shorts. Note the child on the left wearing a tunic suit. We believe this child is a boy. Image courtesy of Albumn 1900.

We note many images of German children wearing tunics. As far as we can tell, all of these children are boys. We are not sure, however, to what extent the tunic was an exclusively boys' garment in Germany. We can only access available images. In most images, the gender of the children is obvious. Some of the children in the available images are in fact very difficult to assess in terms of gender. We believe that the tunic in Germany was primarily a boy's garment. Girls before World War I almost always wore dresses like the girl shown here in the middle of this postcard (figure 1). We can not yet definitaively say that girls never wore tunic suits, but we have not yet noted a girl photographed in one. Here we have to be cautious as we have so few older German images. We have noted a few images of French girls in smock/tunic like garments. The same may have been the case for German girls. We have never seen a girl wearing a tunic like this with kneepants and believe it is a clear indication that the child is a boy, evern though his hair is longer than was common for German boys at the time.

Boys' Tunics

We note many images of German children wearing tunics. As far as we can tell, virtually all of these children are boys. In fact in the years before World War I, it appears to habe beern one of the most popular styles for the younger boy. We are not sure, however, to what extent the tunic was an exclusively boys' garment in Germany. We can only access available images. In most images, the gender of the children is obvious. Some of the children in the available images are in fact very difficult to assess in terms of gender. We believe that the tunic in Germany was primarily a boy's garment.

Girls' Dresses

German grls before World War I almost always wore dresses like the girl shown here in the middle of this postcard (figure 1). The modern convention allowing girls to wear boys' fashions was not the case in the early 20th century. Girls wearing boys clothing would have very much been frowned on. This was a strongly held convention throughout Europe and America in the years before World War I.

Girls' Tunics

We can not yet definitaively say that girls never wore tunic suits, but we have not yet noted a girl photographed in one. Here we have to be cautious as we have so few older German images. We have noted a few images of French girls in smock/tunic like garments. The same may have been the case for German girls. The the few tunic-styled dresses we note are long and do not show the pants that the child is wearing as is almpost always the case with boys' tunic suits. The one exception here was a girls' tunic-style gym suit we noted. A reader writes, "The tunic suit in Germany was definitely a boy's garment. Nost avertizements clearly identified them a a garment for boys. I have, however, seen at least one tunic sit that wasadvertised "fur Knaben oder Madchen". Tunics were thus not exclusively a boy's garment, but as far as I can tell, the wearing of tunics by girls was minimal."

Image Assessment

We have never seen a girl wearing a tunic like this with kneepants and believe it is a clear indication that the child is a boy, even though his hair is longer than was common for German boys at the time.

Reader Comments

HBC readers almost unanimously responded that the child on the left is a boy. An Austrian reader, however, assures HBC that the child here wearing a tunic is a boy. He reports that German and Austrian girls in the early 20th century always wore dresses and would not wear tunics and kneepants. A German reader also reports that the child on the left is a boy, indicating that girls did not wear kneepants like this child has on. A French reader writes, "My wife and I are absolutely certain that the child on the left is a boy! I guess this photo was taken before World War I. some time about 1905-1914. The boy on left is dressed in traditional fashion of this period while the boy on right is in a more modern style."

Blindman's Bluff

One very popular game was "Blindman's bluff". The game was very simple. One player was blindfolded spun around a number of times, often three times. The blindfolded player tries to tag one of the other players, who are allowed to crouch low or sneak up behind the "blindman" and yell "Boo"! Others stand still and try keep as quiet as possible. Eventually one of the other players gets careless and is tagged. Than that player is blindfolded for the next game. We are not sure whem the game was first played. It became seen as a children's game and was very popular for children's parties in the 19th century and early 20th century. The origins, however, appear to have been much earlier, certainly the 18th century if not earlier. And it was not at first played by children. The game can be played both indoors and outdoors, but is well suited for indoor play. The confines of a room give the "blindman" a better chance than more open outdoor locations. We know that the game was played in many different locations, including America, England, France, Germany and other countries.