This photograph features three well dressed men wearing bizarre hats. Why are they wearing these hats? Perhaps a cabinet card gallery visitor can leave a comment offering a plausible explanation. One wonders if the men are trying to be funny. This image is truly an unusual photograph. The photographer is Oskar Liessner who’s studio was located in Vienna, Austria.
THREE DASHING YOUNG MEN WEARING BIZARRE HATS IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA
The URI to TrackBack this entry is: https://cabinetcardgallery.com/2013/07/20/three-dashing-young-men-wearing-bizarre-hats-in-vienna-austria/trackback/
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
Hat dies auf Kabinettfotos, CDVs und Fotografiegeschichten rebloggt und kommentierte:
faszinierend…
Want to comment on your past Roshon photos. Just FYI he and his wife also had a studio in Augusta, Georgia, 1899 -1902.
I’ve seen at least one other cabinet card image like this, of a nicely dressed man, I think also from Vienna, wearing a hat decorated with a mass of flowers. I suspect it might be some special occasion or ritual, not just a prank, but you’re right, to our modern eyes it looks pretty silly.
I have been advised that as there was no Œcall-up¹ or Œdraft¹ to do compulsory military service in Austria c1900, young men who volunteered were feted in the city districts or towns or villages from which they came. They wore these decorated hats to signify the impending change to their lives by becoming part of the military. This may explain why they look somewhat sick at heart rather than cheerful as they might if the hat decoration signified a religious or social event such as Confirmation, marriage or whatever. Hope this is helpful. ALSO Please advise the status of images in this gallery re copyright and reproduction permissions etc. Thanks Andrew
On 20/07/2013 05:02, “THE CABINET CARD GALLERY” wrote:
> bmarshphd posted: “This photograph features three well dressed men wearing > bizarre hats. Why are they wearing these hats? Perhaps a cabinet card gallery > visitor can leave a comment offering a plausible explanation. One wonders if > the men are trying to be funny. This image i” >
Yes! I too, think that these young men passed muster and were found fit to be taken into the army! In Austrian they are called “Rekruten” and were found to be “tauglich”. I know similar hats (not this high) for this special event from my childhood. Greetings, Claudia from Vienna, Austria.