Victorian black silk top hat, 1880's silk chiffon, taffeta, tilt hat, long ribbons,collectible, excellent condition, hand made couture millinery
This is an exquisite example of Victorian headwear from the 1880's/90's.
It was created by Miss E.A.Houle of Denver, in her own hat shop no doubt.
It is fashioned from silk chiffon, runched into waves of gathers, topped with a band of unrunched silk, and then more amazing runching in the center. The shape is a cookie with a bite taken out of it.
The back of the hat features a long taffeta top ribbon on either side of a taffeta bow.
The inside of this hat is as much a work of art as the outside.
It is excellent condition. Even the silk lining is perfectly intact
It measures 7 inches front to back and 9 inches wide. It is incredibly light.
It can certainly be worn, and is an amazing piece for display and a brilliant addition to any hat collection.
This is from the Sarah Elizabeth Glover collection.
I was recently able to purchase several hundred pieces from a collection that had been a lifetime's passion for a ninety year old woman. Sarah Elizabeth Glover came to this small town from Santa Barbara California in the 70's, where she and her husband Ray, had operated a costume rental business for many years. They were also avid folk dancers and soon started a massive collection of ethnographic clothing.
Upon moving here, they opened an ethnographic museum and Sarah Elizabeth continued to collect for her already extreme collection of Victoriana, Edwardian, and authentic costumes from all countries. Her folk dancing colleagues were happy to support her in her pursuit of the unusual as they traveled to different countries.
As the passionate collector and operator of a museum, Sarah Elizabeth was fastidious in her care for the items, cycling the items on display regularly with others stored carefully, to prevent hangar fatigue and environmental damage. As a costume designer and expert seamstress, she would mend the mendable and embrace the beauty of antique wear.
Even when her 22 room Victorian home was stuffed to the gills, she didn't quit, and her encyclopedic memory and wealth of knowledge never failed her until her death at age 92.
I will be presenting items from this collection slowly but surely. I am selling these pieces as collectible art, not necessarily something to be worn. The beauty of the workmanship, and the hours of skilled labor, is and of itself of incredible value. In a world of the mass produced and disposable, these items will never be created again except at great expense by a handful of highly skilled and well trained costumers
What goes around, comes around.
Love of beauty and quality from the past is happiness.
What goes around, comes around
Love of beauty and quality is happiness
Shipping is standard mail which is not so slow in North America but snail pace everywhere else. If you need faster, please advise and I will adjust the cost. Combined shipping is always available, usually the second item ships free depending on size and weight.
Please feel free to ask any questions.
refunds are only given if the item has been seriously misrepresented.
shipping costs paid by customer.