Bonnet
MillinerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1842
MediumHand-stitched silk, wool flannel, starched buckram, silk ribbons, lace, faux flowers of starched fabric, and covered wire
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width across front x depth): 9 1/2 x 8 x 10 1/2in. (24.1 x 20.3 x 26.7cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Elisha H. Cooper
Object number1957.49.5
DescriptionWoman's bonnet of stiffened buckram covered with ivory silk and ornamented with light tan silk ribbons, faux flowers, and lace. The brim is approximately 5 1/2 inches deep at the center top, and approximately 21 1/2 inches around the wired outer edge. This edge is trimmed with a lace, perhaps an early machine-made lace with hand-stitched cordonnet, that is three inches wide. The underside of the brim is lined with cream-colored silk. The crown is approximately four inches deep at the center top. The angle between the brim and crown is very shallow, so that the bonnet lies close to the sides of the face. The crown is wrapped with the pale tan ribbon, from the lower center back to the center top, where it is tied in a large half-bow. Both ends of the ribbon are cut in a swallowtail; one end is tied into the bow, while the other end hangs down the proper left side of the bonnet. Two large bunches of cream-colored faux flowers made from cut fabric and wire are draped down each side of the bonnet from the bow on top. The flower bunches also have buds formed by wire dipped in a liquid that hardens to droplet shape (these are too hard to be wax). The crown is decorated with a ruffle of box-pleated self-fabric stitched into the seam around the top of the crown. The back of the neck is covered by a shallow, flat curtain stiffened at the edge with wire. Wire is also set into the seam across the top of the curtain; it is topstitched to look like piping. The same lace edging that is used on the brim is stitched over the curtain. The inside of the bonnet clearly shows the number of layers and types of fabrics used to create a stiff base for the brim and crown. The crown is shaped by a loosely woven starched fabric. A much more tightly woven and stiffer fabric is visible in layers next to the brim. What appears to be a starched wool felt is visible at the edge of the brim between the layers of silk. The join between the brim and the crown is covered on the inside with a loosely woven brown fabric. The ties of the bonnet are made of 3 1/8-inch-wide, cream-colored silk ribbon with the end cut in a swallowtail; the proper right tie is nineteen inches long, and the proper left tie is about twelve inches long.
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