Description:
Man's black cut pile silk (plush) tall or top hat with a tall and narrow crown which flares out to the flat top with a slight curve. Modern forms began to invade the world of fashion by the end of the 18th century, and this style of top hat was invented in Florence, Italy, about 1760. The methods were perfected by the 1830s when wearing a "stove pipe" hat was an essential part of being fashionable. Massachusetts was a center for hat making because of the easy access to water power and its close links to the northwest which supplied companies with beaver fur. The height and shape varied throughout the period and remained unchallenged until the introduction of the "derby" in 1850. This example has the inside crown lined with a glazed maroon leather; the sides of the crown are lined in a pink cardboard; and a gilt embossed label inside the crown that has "EXCELSIOR" written in a crest over the label "N. READ & Co / FALL RIVER. / Mass." Also, "[illegible] 1/2" written in pencil. Nathan Read & Co. was owned by Nathan Read (1806-1895) and was listed at 9 Granite block making hats, caps and furs in the 1883 "Hargraves Manufacturing Comp'y" catalogue. The Nathan Read House is now a historic house at 506 North Main Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1845 by Nathan Read, the house is part of a cluster Greek Revival houses built on North Main Street after the Great 1843 fire that destroyed much of downtown Fall River. This hat was purchased from Cora Ginsburg in Feb 2000.
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.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Cotton; Leather; Linen; Silk Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2000.11.2 |
