Object ID
1994.32.1
Object Name
Flatcap
Date Created
1934 – 1989
Material
Wool
Object Entities
Secaras, John (collected by)
Secaras, John (is related to)
Access Points
Object Description
Beige wool man's cap. Size 6 3/4. The cap is a folding cap. It is made out of beige wool. At the top there is a button in the middle and steaming out of the button there are 8 lines of stitching the front part of the cap is folded over and sewn to the visor. Inside the cap there is a leather strip then it turns into a silk lining. On the silk it says Kingley water proof visor Flexo the folding cap REG. In the inside on the back of the cap there is also two tags one has the size and the other has the company United Hatters, Cap, and Millinery Workers International Union.
Origin
Donated by John Secaras.
The style, very similar to a beret, was popular in Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among both boys and adult men. As the name suggests, it is now associated with newspaper boys. This gives rise to a misunderstanding. It is true that many newspaper boys and other working boys wore flat caps along with other styles. This style was not, however, worn only by boys. Flat caps were very common for American and European men and boys of all classes during the early 20th century and were almost universal during the 1910s-20s, particularly among the working 'lower' classes. A great many photographs of the period show these caps worn not only by newsboys, but by dockworkers, high steel workers, shipwrights, farmers, beggars, costermongers, criminals, artisans, and tradesmen of many types. This is also well attested in films of this period and just after. While they were worn by boys and men of all social classes, they were worn by the 'upper' classes primarily for leisure activities, and the style became associated with well-to-do country sportsmen, drivers and wealthy golfers.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Flatcap, 1934 – 1989, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/6156. Accessed 03/28/24.