1846 Ivory silk bonnet
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1845-1850 An ivory drawn silk moiré bonnet

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The bonnet from the side
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The back of the bonnet
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Detail of the gathering
Description
The brim and crown merge together and the silk is gathered and drawn over five pairs of whalebones, ⅞" apart; the front edge has whalebone all round it as well as a wire, and this goes along the lower edges of the sides and round the back. The whalebone pair nearest the back goes right round the bonnet, ⅞" away from the end of the crown. The back edge of the crown, with three rows of whalebone round it, rests on a wire ring round the edge of the silk of the back, which is mounted on buckram.
The curtain is cut on the bias, 2⅝" wide, and its lower edge and sloping side edges have a self binding, ⁷⁄₁₆" wide which is stiffened. The top edge is gathered on to the lowest part of the back of the crown; the side edges lie unattached along the sides and the end point is stitched to the lowest points of the front.
The bonnet is unlined except for round the back of the crown where there is a lining of thin ivory silk, only 3¾" wide, which has now mostly come unstitched from round the back. The bonnet strings are missing and were likely to have been a matching silk ribbon. A piece of ivory linen, 5" long and 2½" wide, has been sewn inside the top, 2½" in from the front edge, whose purpose is unclear; it does show some signs of wear.
The bonnet may have had some added trimming; it was quite usual for women to change the trimmings on their headwear to keep up with fashion, and was more economical that buying a new bonnet.
Contemporary illustrations
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Fashion plate in Le Follet, June 1845
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Fashion plate La Mode, September 1845
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Detail from a fashion plate in Magasin des Demoiselles, October 1846
Contemporary items
1848 Striped silk taffeta dress
More bonnets from the Hopkins Collection can be seen in Headwear, published by The School of Historical Dress and available from the Hopkins Costume Trust bookshop.