Cheap Civilan Hats

[lukegilly13]

There are several quality hat matkers out there today and this probably doesn't scratch the surface of what was available in the mid 1800's. One can order a new hat now-a-days and can save some money by going maybe without a liner, or by purchasing a hat made from wool felt instead of beaver fur. While I'm not trying to validate wearing cheap/not researched/farbistic headwear.....
Were there cheap knockoffs available during our peirod? In other words, might a poor dirt farmer find a cheaper model/version of a bowler, topper, etc. instead of wearing his ol' sun faded behive shaped slouch hat out and about? If so, does the trend continue throughout civilian wear....(i.e. wearing a cheaply made frock instead of one made from expensive materials and linings)?

[26th NC]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

Luke,

No doubt then, as now, there were plenty of people in the business of making cheaper versions of more expensive and better made items, of all types. There were plenty of hatters who made good quality goods, and probably an equal number of those with lesser skills making similar items. The problem is doing the research to find one of these mimic artists. Since I am about to portray one of those poor dirt farmers, I'll be doing a bit of research to find such a vendor, although I'll bet you won't find one advertising "cheaply made goods". They probably all state, "only the finest materials and workmanship go into our hats".

Layton Pennington

[PogueMahone]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

"only the finest materials and workmanship go into our hats".

That is always the first lie in marketing.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

There are plenty of accounts of poor southernors wearing quilted cloth hats, which were based upon "pork pie" or "beehive" depending upon style desired or ease of pattern (see two examples in "Echoes of Glory" for instance). This was most likely due to economic feasibility as well as lack of proper supplies/maker. One contemporary reference from a Union prisoner at Andersonville is out there that bemoans the fact that his good cap was "exchanged" by a guard for a cheap cloth hat. Its been said by many on here that today is the opposite of the 19th century, as now labor is expensive and material cheap, not the other way around in the 1800's.

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

When looking into clothing for "economically challenged" :D persons, don't discount the flourishing second-hand markets and, for men's attire, the burgeoning Ready-to-Wear shops. If shoes & boots came through the second-hand markets, headwear of all sorts probably did too. As for the RTW shops... there's a reason they were called "slop shops" in period...they often focused more on quantity and price than on the quality of goods. Good luck with your research, I'm always interested in seeing how the "original cast" aquired their clothing. :)

[FortyRounder]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

I recall a book titled The Mexican War by an English Soldier (available on Google Book Search) in which a British immigrant recalls his service in the U.S. Army in the 1840s. As he was about to enlist in New York City in 1845, he was told that new recruits were not allowed to have citizen's clothing once they reached Governor's Island (the recruit processing center). He decided to sell his clothes and bought some "throwaway" duds--a cheap hat and light linen jacket--to cover himself before he was issued his uniform.

[26th NC]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

Joe, you are exactly correct, which is why I put the quote in italics.

Layton Pennington

[lukegilly13]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

Taken from the York County PA Civl War History Page
http://www.pacivilwar.com/county/yorkhistory.html

The following is a copy of the requisition made upon the borough of York by Gen. Early, during his occupancy of the town, also a list of the articles and amount of money he received:

REQUIRED FOR THE USE OF EARLYS DIVISION.

William W. THORNTON,

Capt. & A.C.S.

REQUIRED FOR THE USE OF MAJ.- GEN. EARLY'S COMMAND.

Two thousand pairs shoes or boots.
One thousand pairs socks.
One thousand felt hats.
One hundred thousand dollars in money.

C.E. SNODGRASS,
Major & Chief Q.M. Early's Division.
June 28, 1863.
Approved, and the authorities of the town of York will furnish the above articles and the money required, for which certificates will be given.
J.A. EARLY,

Major-General Commanding.
Was "felt hats" a common way of refering to hats or was Early's Division requesting specific cheap hats? In modern language, if you contacted a hat maker and asked for a "felt hat" you'd most likely be getting the cheaper model.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

purchasing a hat made from wool felt instead of beaver fur.

That was one of the ways of making cheap hats in the period. Isn't there a reenacting group called the "wool hat boys"? That's a period reference to poor or backwoods types.

Here's a just-post-war discussion on cheap wool hats, that soon segues into an article on how better hats are made.

More on various types of hats, from the late 1850s.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Hank Trent]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

Was "felt hats" a common way of refering to hats or was Early's Division requesting specific cheap hats? In modern language, if you contacted a hat maker and asked for a "felt hat" you'd most likely be getting the cheaper model.

My guess is that he meant "not straw," but people with more experience in clothing records may have a better sense of it.

A felt hat could have been made from felt created from the most expensive beaver or the worst wool.

Actually, come to think of it, talking about cheap hats, silk top-hats were themselves introduced as a cheaper version of beaver, when beaver was starting to become prohibitively expensive a couple decades before the war. But I'm not sure if silk was widely accepted enough by the time of the war that it really wasn't considered a knock-off anymore. Anyone know?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[PogueMahone]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

Early's demand for felt hats may have also been an indication that he wanted brimmed hats as opposed to a cloth mechanic's cap or something. What if the city complied by providing 1,000 chef's hats?

Yeah, Gettysburg would have ended with all the Federals dying laughing.

[PogueMahone]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

What is the most common hat worn today?

A ball cap or "trucker" hat style, right?

On average, they cost about $20. Pretty cheap, huh?

What was the most common hat worn then? And it was pretty cheap, right?

Just a thought on semantics ...

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

Hallo!

"Hell is paved with silk hats." -Christopher "Kit" Carson

In brief and to over-generalize...

Among the wealthy, among politicians/diplomats, and even among prosperous middle class businessmen, the silk topper or top hat had replaced beaver felt top hats.
However, what killed the silk top hat (except for formal and political circles) was the rise of the mass-produced 'bowler/derby" and "fedora" type "wool felt" hats shortly after the Civil War (deemed acceptable for all classes).
Which really got a boost when Prince Albert created a fad with the "Homburg" in the 1870's.

Curt

[JerryGVSU]

Re: Cheap Civilan Hats

Here's an article written by a Penn. farmer about what clothing farmers should wear, he wrote a whole paragraph about hats...


"Finally-hats. A farmer is not exposed to falling ropes, or spars, or tackle-hence, does not need a stiff tarpaulin, like a sailor or a fireman. His hat should be cool and airy in the summer, and should give shade to his head and face. A light straw, palm-leaf, or chip hat, with a moderately broad brim and low crown, is the thing for the hot season. For the winter we need something which is warmer, which will not blow off easily, which will shade the eyes from the great glare of the sun on the snow, which will in a measure protect us from the rain, and which will not be in the way nor become easily injured. A cloth cap with liberal front-piece, or a medium or low-crowed soft felt hat, answers these requirements perfectly."

While he does not make reference to price or quality, he does say that straw hats are the best. So we might say that a farmer would simply use a straw hat as a cheap hat.

He later goes on to talk about what farmers can do to make themselves more formal. I love this article.

http://www.14njvols.com/recruit.html

(Scroll down or do a search on the page for "1860 article on farmers clothing")