Antique Silk Plush Top Hat Macqueen & Co London Size 6 7/8

This is a very nice quality Victorian era antique silk plush top hat that was made by Macqueen & Co of London for Hammond Hats & Furs of Winnipeg, Manitoba.  I’ve been able to date the hat to sometimes between 1895 and 1911, most likely pre-1902.  William John Hammond (1951-1926) had a business that had been located in Toronto but moved to Winnipeg in 1895 - he was the sole articled furrier in Canada at that time, buying from trappers and exporting to New York and London.  He became well-known in Winnipeg for giving away free hats to the population.  He retired in 1911 and sold his building, so I’m fairly sure that the business was closed with his retirement.  Macqueen & Co had been in business since at least 1873 as evidenced by the medals awarded that are shown on the liner stamping.  In April of 1902, they started a major fire in their factory that destroyed twenty surrounding businesses including large warehouses, so I assume that it took some time for them to re-establish their business.  That plus the Victorian crown on the liner probably narrow the dating of this hat to 1895 to 1901.  

The hat comes with its original. cardboard box, although the box is in a fairly poor state.  It has the Macqueen & Co logo on it as well as “Sole Agent Hammond Winnipeg, Man”.  It has the size of 6 7/8 written on it as well as the size of 15.00.  It measures 21 7/8” around the sweatband, and 7 3/4” by 6 1/4” across the opening.  The crown measures 6” in height - it has a silk grosgrain band wrapped around its base with a bow at the left side.  The hat comes with a velvet silk brush.  This silk plush top hat is in very good condition with some “lifting” to the silk plush, mostly on the right side but also with a bit on the left side (see photos).  In addition, the grosgrain is unstitched over a 2 1/2” length on the right side - it appears to be stable and not in danger of progressing, but you might want to have this repaired.  A qualified hat shop can do this and probably flatten the plush also.   Otherwise, the hat is clean and has survived intact - certainly very usable as is.  As mentioned, the box has wear, but displays well, except that the lid is pretty much destroyed with half of the side wall missing.  You might be able to re-construct and cover the lid so that it is more presentable.  

This is a wonderful antique silk plush top hat - great if it fits!