Man's Uniform Hat
HatterMade by
Unknown
Date1835-1845
MediumHand-stitched leather, with plain-woven cotton lining, a leather sweatband and visor, a brass buckle, and brass ornaments
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (crown height x width of top of crown): 7 x 6 1/2in. (17.8 x 16.5cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
DescriptionCompletely hand-stitched leather shako, with fine stitching where the crown seam joins to the body of the hat. The hat is of a cylindrical shape, slightly tapered, with a seam up the center front. A circular crown panel that is indented on top overlaps the sides of the hat by three-quarters of an inch. The hat has a one-piece leather visor stitched to the base across the front. There is a leather sweatband, of thinner leather, inside the hat. The inside of the hat is lined with a band of coarse, plain-woven cotton, that appears to simply have been inserted under the sweatband and held together at center back with one or two quick and crude stitches. All around the base of the hat is a 7/8-inch-wide brass band, embossed with four ribs. At the sides of the hat, attached to the brass band, are two leather chin straps, which fasten with a 3/8-inch-diameter, round, brass buckle. The straps are covered with overlapping, thin, sheet brass scales, each of which has a ridge crimped into its front edge. Over the points where the straps attach to the hat are 1 3/4-inch-diameter embossed brass rosettes. On the center front of the crown, just above the brass banding, is an embossed, oval, brass plate. The plate is stamped "BRAVOS". The Bravos was probably the nickname of the militia company that wore this hat. Above the plate are two rows of stitching running parallel to the center front seam toward the crown. This is stitching for a two-inch-long leather sleeve sewn to the inside of the hat. This corresponds with a small hole at the front of the crown. The sleeve and the hole were intended for mounting a plume on the front of the hat.
Stylisticlly, hat is modelled on US Infantry Shako pattern of 1832.
Stylisticlly, hat is modelled on US Infantry Shako pattern of 1832.
Object number2003.194.0
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