Longshoreman’s Cap, about 1960
date: label: date made
content: ca 1960
label: date made
content: 1970s
label: used date
content: ca 1970-2001
notes: label: Description
content: Longshoremen are the laborers who load and unload cargo ships. Since 1937, longshore work on the West Coast of the United States has been performed by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
label: Description
content: This white cotton cap with a visor was worn by its donor, Herb Mills, a member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10, in San Francisco. Mills wore this hat for special union-related events, such as meetings and parades. The cap was made in Korea for “Dorfman Pacific, of Stockton, Califonia.”
label: Description
content: Sometimes called the "West Coast Stetson," this type of white cap was worn by West Coast mariners, particularly longshoremen and sailors. Along with black "Frisco" jeans and a "hickory" (blue and white striped) shirt, the soft white cap was once a signature part of "the usual rig" that men wore in part to express their occupational identity. The white cap also served a safety function as they could be spotted even in the dark holds of ships by men on deck who were lifting and lowering heavy slingloads. By the early 1970s longshoremen were required to wear hardhats for safety when working aboard vessels and on the docks. They still wear the "West Coast Stetson," however, at special union meetings and events.
place: label: Associated Place
content: United States: California, San Francisco
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Work
label: See more items in
content: America on the Move
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
label: Exhibition
content: America On The Move
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Herb Mills
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2001.0214.02
label: catalog number
content: 2001.0214.02
label: accession number
content: 2001.0214
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Cap, Longshoremen's
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 cm x 20.5 cm x 24 cm; 3 15/16 in x 8 1/16 in x 9 7/16 in