The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-11-16
HISTORY OF THE HIGH HAT.


 Curious Specimens of Headgear Worn
 by Famous Englishmen-Fate of Old
 Hats.
 Ever since certain John Hethering- ton, on January Is, 1797, appeared in
 the Strand wearing, to quote a newspa-
 per report of the period upon his head
 what he called a silk hat, a tall struc-
 ture having a shiny luster and calculat-
 ed to frighten timid people," the top
 hat which, to quote the Thunderer of
 the same date, was destined to work
 revolution in headgear" has been the
 headgear of the mighty, and in the case
 of Joseph Hume, the political reformer
 and financier and some others, a
 m ghty headgear Joseph Hume, says
 the Globe, in one of it's chatty Turn
 overs, who, when member of parliament
 for Middlesex, proposed in 1884 a fixed
 duty on imported corn, apparently had
 the largest head of any man famous in
 English history, judging from some in-
 teresting statistics respecting the head
 pieces of celebrities which were for
 warded, together with travelling cap,
 by an admirer to Mr Gladstone in 1897.
 His size of hats, indeed was S1a or half
 size larger than that of Dr. Thompson who succeeded Archbishop Longley at
 York, and of Daniel O'Connell, whose
 head covering, which was on view a few years ago at a meeting of the County Kildare Archaeological Society at Naas, measured S1s inchesf in width and 10 inches in it's longest diameter, and was of sufficient dimensions completely to extinguish the chairman of the meeting as far as the chin when he elected to try 1t on. Following Daniel O'Connell in the size of headgear comes Dr. Thomas Chalmers, the eminent theo- logian, and one of the few Britons who have been elected members of the M. Thackeray, who was a short head, in sporting parlance in front of MT Gladstone, Charles Dickens and Robert Burns, whose head was never graced by tall silk hat, for the poet died exactly six months before the happening of the stirring event that marked the occa- sion of the birth of the tall hat.
 The painstaking correspondent of the Grand Old Man did not conclude his statistical record of headpieces with Burns, but extended it so far as to re- cord the fact that our King Edward VII requires a No. head covering, his nephew of Germany hat bearing the mystic figures 6B, the late Dean Stan ley a 6A tile" and the Duke of Corn wall and York topper of the propor- tions represented by the size 65s-infor- nation that he original recipient found, as he mentioned when acknowledging | the gift, full of interest" Large as | some of these mighty head coverings ! appear. they would, if placed side by | side with & couple of straw hats made i in 1899 and last year at Luton, appear ! almost insignificant. In the one case the crown of the straw erection measur- ad about 12 inches high, and across the | brim the measurement was 6E feet; the hat, which required the services of | ,hree experienced men to block and iron 1t, contained no fewer than 200 yards | of jumbo plait, 1 inch wide, and the nat box in which it travelled to New castle (Australia) measured feet square and was feet deep The sec ond straw was even larger, for it measured over 7 feet across the brim, Il feet round the brim and feet round he crown moreover, it contained 250 Jards of dark blue and white jumbo 1lait, and no fewer than four men of vast experience were occupied in it's Wearing this, the largest nat in the world, even Lablache the great singer, who, overcome with emO- ion, once entered the royal presence a hat on his head and carrying me in his hand, could not have become to it's presence. It will be re- 'alled hv some old plaveoers that when ! Queen Victoria, desirous, perhaps, of putting the great basso of the century md her old tutor at his ease, ,laughingly emarked: M. Lablache, you have got me hat too many the singer witt ly md promptly replied: Pardon, your majesty; there are two hats too many or a man who has lost his head'
 In the early days of the last century he topper" of the period was styled a castor" a title that gave rise to the re- ort uttered by the first Baron Chelms- ord when coming away from a recep- ion with Lord Cockburn and Sir Fred rick Pollack. Said Coekburn, chief jus ice: T can't find my castor" Then ry Pollacks," rejoined the lord Chan ellor When the l,entury closed M. 'arolus Duran sty : the unpopular but