There is something about a uniform
that makes a fella feel kinda special.
Maybe it's the sharp hat
which gives you
that soldierly look.
that makes a fella feel kinda special.
Maybe it's the sharp hat
which gives you
that soldierly look.
A good hat and a fine uniform lets people see
that you belong to an exclusive group.
They don't let every Tom, Dick, and Harry join.
You gotta know what'char doing.
that you belong to an exclusive group.
They don't let every Tom, Dick, and Harry join.
You gotta know what'char doing.
A fancy jacket with its little knotted embroidery
is important to show off your classy refinement
that's so different from just your Sunday best.
is important to show off your classy refinement
that's so different from just your Sunday best.
When you put it all on–
the starched shirt, the fancy jacket, the hat–
you ain't the same as you was before.
You just know you're the best.
the starched shirt, the fancy jacket, the hat–
you ain't the same as you was before.
You just know you're the best.
'Cause whatever it is,
it makes you proud
to play in the band.
It's your band now.
it makes you proud
to play in the band.
It's your band now.
* * *
The first image is, I think, of two brothers who belong to a boy scout band. The taller and older one on the left plays a cornet, while his shorter, stouter brother plays an altohorn. It's an unmarked photo postcard from around 1910 -1920. I call them scouts but except for their broad brimmed trooper hats they aren't wearing any scouting insignia, and their military style leggings are not a typical scouting accessory. So they may be members of a "cadet" band from America's first world war years, 1917-18, when there was a surge of patriotic military pride in the US.
* * *
The second image of a young clarinet player with his hat pushed back in a jaunty style is a from a cabinet card photo taken by Painter's photography studio in River, Kansas, a township in Pawnee County, KS. Located in west central Kansas, River now has so few residents that it doesn't merit an entry in Wikipedia. But in roughly 1900-1905, River did have a boys' band and this lad played two sizes of clarinet and a piccolo. His extra instruments are on the bearskin carpet next to his chair.
* * *
* * *
The next image comes from a carte de visite photo of a boy holding what looks like an extra large cornet. It's a German style rotary valve trumpet pitched lower in F or E-flat, I think. The photographer was Ph. E. Theummler of 387 Broadway, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the photo dates from 1875-1880. Notice behind the boys feet are the legs of the photographer's posing stand. This studio accessory nudged the subject into the optimum position for the focus point of the camera's lens.
* * *
The last image is another pair of boys, also brothers, I think, that came from a cabinet card photo produced by the Frey studio of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Both boys hold cornets and are dressed in double-breasted heavy wool coats, short pants, and hats that have badges with the initials TCB. They appear about age 12 and 10 to 12. This photograph is from about 1895-1900.
Uniforms and hats are still a part of our society, but the connotations were different in earlier times. Class, status, privilege, wealth and poverty were measured by the clothes people wore. Back then, clothing more easily advertised the level of a person. These young boys in uniform mimicked the fashion of older bandsmen in their time. I imagine it gave them a sense of self esteem and empowerment to be a uniformed musician in a band.
What intrigues me about these photos is the way all the boys look directly into the camera lens. We can see their youth, of course, in their size and posture. But their expressions are mirrors of a future maturity, as their eyes reveal the young men they will become.
They are the kind of boys that any mother would be proud to call her own.
This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where its Stay at Home Fashion Week.
where its Stay at Home Fashion Week.
6 comments:
All of these boys look so serious and proud...real musicians, I dare say. Great photos.
Musicians work hard to make harmony together, and are employed for these efforts. The rewards of accomplishment are extended to how they look, and you've acknowledged their pride in having special uniforms which had extra meanings for the times they lived.
Well now I want a crane table!
About that photo card with the photographer's props creeping in - how does that happen? People paid good money for a flawed foto. I have a number of professional photos that look sloppy.
These little men have an aura about them.
This is a particularly wonderful set of photos. My first thought was also "scouts" when I looked at the first photo. Taken as a group, these photos illustrate the role of music -- and its collective expression in a band -- in building the self-esteem, that you describe, in these young men. What better way to come of age than learning an instrument and, clad in a band uniform, displaying this prowess at gatherings and parades.
They're all great photos, but my favorite has to be the younger brother in the first and sixth photos. What an expression! He looks at once like a young boy and a grown man + that's a pretty big horn for a little guy. Love it. :)
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