Description:
Man's black silk tall or top hat which has a label on silk-covered paper embossed in gold with an eagle over "H. Pond & Co. / Manufacturers / Keene, N.H." in a patterned diamond shape inside the hat. Henry Pond (1818-1866) was a successful merchant and businessman with a variety of commercial interests in Keene trade including railroads, buildings and hotels, and the fur trade. After his marriage to his second wife, Harriette Maria Wilson, in 1843, Pond probably started his hat manufactury which included not only tall beaver hats but a wide variety of cloth hats and caps, furs, robes, gloves, mittens, umbrellas, and "All Other Goods in Their Line." Pond employed more than twelve workmen, and had several branch stores in New Hampshire and adjoining states by 1855. Pond became one of Keene's highest taxpayers, and his estate was valued at $35,962.50 when he comitted suicide in 1866. Black tall hats, which were made from dyed beaver fur, silk, or even palm leaf, gathered popularity during the early years of the 19th century and remained in vogue, in a variety of shapes and sizes, well into the 20th century.
Label Text:
By the turn of the 19th century, the fashionable man’s hat became taller and more slender. These tall, or top, hats were made from dyed beaver fur, silk, or even palm leaf. Crown height and silhouette shifted throughout much of the century, as did the width of the brim. All, however, have in common an inherent, if impractical, luxury.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2004.8 |
