Description:
Man's black wool felt cocked, or tricorn hat dating to the 1760s or 1770s. The two metal hook and eye fastenings at the crown to maintain the upturned brim (thus creating the tricorn, or three-cornered, effect) suggest a French construction (English hats tend to have loops or buttons). The button or cockade is possibly later, as is possibly the lining and inside hatband. The hat is an important and rare survival of a man's 18th-century wardrobe. Hats were both made in and imported into the Connecticut River Valley at this time. Examples made locally followed English and French styles through copying fashion engravings and extant examples.

Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Leather; Wool

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.524

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.