Antique Black Silk Top Hat in Leather Case W. MacQueen C1880
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Internal dimensions 19 x 15.5cm in overall good used condition.
W. MacQueen & Co. Ltd. London, Extra Best Quality, Bond St, London
and is labeled H. P. Snewin
Condition:
In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation of condition.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 25 x Width 31 x Depth 36
Dimensions in inches:
Height 10 inches x Width 1 foot, 0 inches x Depth 1 foot, 2 inches
The perpetrator was haberdasher John Hetherington, who designed it, made it, and was the first person to wear it into the street. According to a newspaper account, passerby’s panicked at the sight. Several women fainted, children screamed, and an errand boy’s arm was broken when he was trampled by the mob.
Hetherington was taken to court for wearing “a tall structure having a shining luster calculated to frighten timid people.” Hetherington had concocted a silk-covered variation of the contemporary riding hat, which had a wider brim, a lower crown, and was made of beaver. There was some initial resistance but in 1850 Prince Albert started wearing top hats made of “hatter’s plush” (a fine silk shag) and that settled any questions, it was now the century of The Top Hat.
Men wore top hats for business, pleasure, and formal occasions – pearl grey for daytime and black for day or night.
The height and contour of the hat fluctuated with the decades. By 1902 the top hat was nearing the end of its century long primacy and was soon to be replaced by the more compact Homburg.
Now, the top hat is a piece of history, not really a part of the contemporary wardrobe despite its occasional uses.
Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)
was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.
While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.
Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.
The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).
Satinwood
is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.
The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.
It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.
Our reference: 08365
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