#2600 $650
Romantic period silk taffeta bonnet, 1830s
This charming bonnet is an fine choice for the collector who wants the look without the high price of a museum quality piece. The bonnet is all original and period correct. It displays beautifully. The shape, even without additional decoration, perfectly captures the Romantic period aesthetic.
The bonnet is fashioned from beige silk taffeta. The stiff cardboard brim is covered with beige taffeta on the outside and lined with a lighter colored silk on the inside.
In back the taffeta is ruched and lined with stiff buckram. The crown seam and skirt edge are outlined with rows of corded piping. Everything is hand sewn.
This delightful bonnet certainly kept the sun out of the face of the pretty young thing who wore it to church on Sunday. However, the bonnet's main function was adornment. Here is a quote from a letter of Jane Austen's to one sister about a bonnet given Jane by another sister (Elizabeth).
Eliza has given me a hat, & it is not only a pretty hat, but a pretty stile of hat too. It is something like Eliza's. Only instead of being all straw, half of it is narrow purple ribbon.
The condition is very good. The binding on one side of the brim is frayed, exposing the metal rim. In the silk are a few age spots and tiny holes. This is reflected in the price.
The bonnet is 11 1/2" from front to back.
