The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-26
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY,
The Idea That Gave America the SOFT
Hat.
fRu Il L EDN \RDS.l

tBy +. j. EDWARDS.)
Henry 4. HurIbut, who died in
! 1897 in the 90th yea Of his ase, was
| the organizer of the second of the
national banks chartered under the
National Banks act in New York city.
| He was one Of the charter
OF the Union League Tub of New
| York in 1868. and for 40 years a lead
| ing citizen Of the metropolis.
1 was chatting n day q few weeks
! ago with q member OF the Union
League Club who knew Mr.. Hurlbut
we'll. We were looking at a r%eproduc-
tor Of a photograph Of Henry Ware
Reecher. The great clergyman was
pictured forth with the soft crowned
troaabrimmed black felt hat which
| for MANY years was the only head
piece that he wore.
Henry A. Hurlbut,' said this
friend, was responsible not only foI
Henry Ward Beecher's soft hat, but
for the adoption by men in the Unit
ed States Of the soft felt hat, Il il
was all due to a curious circumstance
in his own early business life.
Mr.. Hurlbut was u native Of Wind,
SOr. Conn, the same town in whlcf
General Grants ancestors lived. WheT
he was a boy they were just begin
ming the manufacture Of hats in Con.
necticut, but the industry was con
fined almost entirely to the high.
crowned beaver skin hats.
"All gentlemen, everybody, in fact
except labOrers, wore for many year!
the white or black high beaver hat
Ii you will look at old pictures, paint.
ed or engraved, setting forth crowd
upon the public thOrsughfares III New
1Crls and other cities in those earl.
days you will find that every man i
shown wearing a high beaver hat.
That was the kind of hat which
Henry A.. Hurlbut learned to max
when d boy. He was a skillful work
nan and when a little past 80 ear
Of age he opened a hat store in New
York city and connected with it
little hat mandatory. He once tols
me that his only expectation was tina
he would make a comfortable win;
at his business.
"About 1851 Mr.. Hurlhut was go
Ing by q newspaper stall outside
book store near his place of bushes
when his attention was attracted b
IA purpOrted to be a picture O
Louis kossuth, who was about to visi
the United States. The p~rojecte,
visit OF kOssuth to this country cause,
almost as much excitement as did tn
projected visit of La Fayette % wear
c earlier. kossuth's attempt to fire
Hungary from foreign domination ha,
| aroused intense national sympathy i
$ the United States. The picture q
kcSsnth which MIR. Hurlbut saw rep
resented the great Hungarian as wear
1hg a soft felt hat, one brin Of whic;
t was sHghtly turned up and the crow
OF which was slightly indented.
/ AS Nj. Hurlbut turned away Yror
the picture the idea SUDDENLY fashe
. upon him, w by not make a hat some
S thlns IKE the one Kossuth wears?
Elght prove to be very popular 81
when he spoke Of his idea to his par1
. her he was old that it would he nee
less TO make hats Of tina kind 70
S sale. Men in the United States Woul
rot wear anything but the nigh
crowned beaver hats, the partner Dc
: clared.
Still he idea appealed to Mr.. Hur
but lie did not have any workne
Nhohl ne thought competent to NAL
= a model OF i hat like kossuth's 81 h
: took Off his coat, rolled up his sieve
blocked out the mode uf a soft h.
aid determined to call it the Kossrt
, hat. 1t was entirely at his own pe7
: sonal risk that hem anufactured an
: offered for sale the kossuth hat.
: made a tremendous hit AIM,
everybody in the United States uante
a kossuth hat, and when Koss,,1h .,
rived in New York he was astonlshe
Z tC see 50 many men wearing ha
: similar to his own. -
o THE venture was very proftah,
n financially, n it gave Mr.. Hurlh,
his first real start towards forum
II had one effect. however az WI
even he did not dream. For a1tboro
the peculiar model Of hat which ~.
called kossuth was very popular :,
q, for a year or two, Yet American ~
y learned II that time how contrary
the soft hat Was. SO that some tor
u - soft nat many Of them similar
% the bread. Tat-Ivi n, n q 49,
{, Reecher Wore, &, form thai 1917
q very popular in the South a
began TO supplant the high hearar -
7e tor every day wear" e L
:. Copyright. 1912. by E, ] F6uar5
- All rights reserved.)