Toque, brown straw trimmed with brown velvet ruffles, c. 1870s, side view

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Creator

Unknown

Date Created

c. 1870s

Subject

Women's costume accessories; Worn costume accessories; Headgear

Description

c. 1870s. Sloped oval brown straw toque or cap, brimless, constructed over a crinoline material (starched heavy mesh) structure, covered in turn with a pale brown fabric. Sixteen lengthwise rows of a two-part straw trim are sewn to the fabric over the crown, each row made of a flat braid sewn to a tubular braid shaped into a zig-zag. The edge of the toque is wired for support and covered with a band of brown velvet, its inside edge left unhemmed but finished on the outside. A matching band of four brown velvet ruffles is sewn around the edge. There is a gap in the ruffles at the center front, likely where a focal element once was or was intended to be; the original inventory notes that there was once "a different trim." There is no lining. Hand-sewn.

Extent

Height in front: 6.4 cm / 2.5 in. (height of crown in front)
Height in back: 3.8 cm / 1.5 in. (height of crown in back)
Length: 17.8 cm / 7 in. (length front to back of crown)

Provenance

Gift of Philip Marston

Museum Number

491

Publisher

University of New Hampshire Library

Medium

Straw, velvet, crinoline, wire

Contributor

Astrida Schaeffer, photographer/curator

Date Digitized

2-7-2019

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Comments

The Irma G. Bowen Historic Clothing Collection digital catalog was produced by the UNH Library Digital Collection Initiative, supported in part by a grant from the Mooseplate program and New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the E. Ruth Buxton Stephenson Memorial Fund.
Photography copyright, Astrida Schaeffer.