Original Vintage 1940s 40s Does Victorian Revival Hat With Cameo Exhibited At The Imperial War Museum

This amazing hat was made in the 1940s in a Victorian revival style. It is fashioned as a miniature tilt hat with a decorative black satin hat band with a bow at the base that holds it to the back of the head. The base of the hat was made from natural coloured pleated straw with a small brim and a shaped crown. The edge of the brim was trimmed with black satin and the same material covers the entirety of the crown in voluminous pleats. The centre of the front has been decorated with tiny black beads as well as a beautiful cameo set in what we believe to be black Bakelite. Intricate veiling drapes over the front and sides of the brim and has been gathered at the back. Inside, there is a black satin hat band for more comfortable wear. This hat would look equally stylish worn straight on the head or tilted low over the front of the head at a jaunty angle. 

This hat belonged to the collection of Stephen Furniss, who established the costume department at Bonham’s auction house in the 1970s. He was a prolific collector of 1940s clothing and accessories and a substantial part of his collection was exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London during the “Forties Fashion and the New Look” exhibition in 1996 and recently in the “Fashion on a Ration” exhibition in 2015. This hat was actually one of the pieces exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in 1996 and we have attached a photo of the exhibit that was taken at the time.

As the hat perches on the head, it is suitable for a variety of head sizes. 

The hat is in excellent condition with only fine slight discolouration to the beads around the cameo as pictured. Examining the inner hat band, there are no signs of wear and we would not be surprised if this hat was never actually worn.

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