December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
A classic "round hat" or citizen's hat made of fine drab-colored, fur felt, either beaver, coney or some mix thereof, that has a 7 1/8 in. tall crown, the top of which has been blocked in a circular form and is 8 1/8 in. diameter and at the bottom, now of an oval form 8 1/8 in. L from front to rear and 7 1/8 in. across. There is a 3/8 inch-wide, silk hatband encircling the base of the crown at the brim with a "tie" on one side and the same silk tape that composed the band is used to bind the edges of the brim, which is uniformly 2 inches wide around. This hat is of a form popular from the 1810s through the 1840s, being gradually replaced in the '30s and '40s and '50s with hats made on a formed oval, vs. circular block as earlier. The drab color is perhaps the most popular in use during this time period, after the traditional black. A hat that could have been seen on the head of a militia volunteer from the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War or the Texas Revolution. Ex. collection, William Dykes. CONDITION: overall good-very good; the crown has some slight folds or bends on one side near the top, but almost unnoticeable without close scrutiny. Some of the silk binding and hatband lace is shattered, with a few tiny splits in the felt in the slight turnup extending around the brim; no sweat or lining in the interior.