The first cosplay took place in 1939 | Hacker News Reader

The first cosplay took place in 1939

syfy.com

27 pointsohjeez9 comments

Baloney. What about the 18th-century noblewomen dressing as faux milkmaids and shepherdesses to live out the fantasies of their times' literature? What about longbows and suits of Lincoln green? Dressing up like characters we love has been done as long as we've had sufficient leisure to dream.

Sure, dressing up like characters we love has been done since the beginning of mankind. But cosplay is something different, distinguished primarily by not having occurred before 1939.

From the excellent https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Hanging-Garden-Babylon-Elusiv... :

> [Nebuchadnezzar] celebrated his prowess by inscribing on two rock faces in the Wadi Briza, a ravine in the cedar mountains of Lebanon []. This was the region where the legendary Gilgamesh and Enkidu had fought and killed the monster Humbaba. Nebuchadnezzar referred to it as a place where he had cut down gigantic cedar trees for his temple doors -- implying that he was like Gilgamesh. On the surface of the rock he also had scenes carved that showed himself grasping a tree, presumably intending to cut it down, and fighting a lion, as Gilgamesh had done

> But cosplay is something different, distinguished primarily by not having occurred before 1939.

That sounds a wee bit circular.

I think that was sarcasm.

Fair enough, perhaps not "cosplay" as a broad definition, but in the sense of modern fandom organizing "cons", I found it interesting it went back decades earlier than I'd assumed. I knew there were Star Trek conventions in the 1960's, but I would've never guessed as early as before the US entering WWII. Of course costumes and enjoying stories probably date back to before writing, but I thought the modern form was much newer.

Yes, but "cosplay" has always been tied closed to science-fiction and fantasy fandom. Simply wearing costumes is probably as old as clothing.

I think the authors have major problems with understanding history. They claim:

I believe that the reason that it is described as the $1,000 costume is that it features metal supports, which were made from aluminum. During that time period, the process for refining aluminum was extremely expensive, and aluminum was more valuable than gold.

In reality, aluminum became cheap early in 20th century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium#Electrolytic_product...

In 1939, massive amounts of aircraft were produced out of aluminum. It's like the authors mistake 1939 for 1839.

Since the authors demonstrate such gaping holes in knowledge that are trivial to check in Wikipedia, this is either complete baloney, or an elaborate prank.

In the latter case, the article is worth reading in search for more easter eggs like that.

Cosplay is not a new phenomenon, it's just been interpreted through an exclusively modern lens. The reality is that people having been using costumes for similar purposes for thousands of years. People put on a costume of something else because it makes them feel different. People today aren't much different in their drives and desires than they were in the stone age.

I wouldn't even say that it's about making them feel different, but it's simply about celebrating something by recreating it themselves, either just to celebrate it with others, or to expose others to it (plays and such).

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