On the Frontier Newsletter of the Frontier Living History Group Date – Jan 2010

Mad As A Hatter We now know that mercury is a ARTICLE INDEX These days we associate mad as a cumulative poison that causes hatter with a bit of whimsy in kidney and brain damage. Physical Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s symptoms include trembling (known book Alice in Wonderland of 1865. at the time as hatter’s shakes), Carroll didn’t invent the phrase, loosening of teeth, loss of Page 1 though. By the time he wrote the co-ordination, and slurred speech; Mad As A Hatter book it was already well known. mental ones include irritability, loss The Beaver Fur Hat of memory, depression, anxiety, and Few people who use the phrase other personality changes. This was Pages 2 today realise that there’s a story of called mad hatter syndrome. The Beaver Fur Hat cont. human suffering behind it; the term derives from an early industrial It’s been a very long time since occupational disease. Felt hats were mercury was used in making hats, Pages 3 and now all that remains is a relic The Beaver Fur Hat cont. once very popular in North America and Europe; an example is the top phrase that links to a nasty period in manufacturing history. Pages 4 hat. The best sorts were made from The Beaver Fur Hat cont. beaver fur, but cheaper ones used But mad hatter syndrome remains Beaver Top Hat c.1825 furs such as rabbit instead. as a description of the symptoms of A complicated set of processes was mercury poisoning which today is needed to turn the fur into a finished usually caused by the leaking of Important information hat. With the cheaper sorts of fur, an mercury out of teeth fillings. Victorian Police’s – early step was to brush a solution of Ref: World Wide Words, Michael Re-enactors Guide Booklet a mercury compound — usually Quinion, 1996–2009. http://www.police.vic.gov.au/retrieveme mercurous nitrate — on to the fur to http://www.worldwidewords.org dia.asp?media_id=36984&status=active roughen the fibres and make them mat more easily, a process called carroting because it made the fur The Beaver Fur Hat UP COMING EVENTS turn orange. Beaver fur had natural serrated edges that made this unnecessary, one reason why it was In 2010 preferred, but the cost and scarcity of beaver meant that other furs had to September be used. Southern Cross Free Trappers Whatever the source of the fur, the Camp at Beaver Creek fibres were then shaved off the skin Contact : John Fowler and turned into felt; this was later Ph: 03 5753 4455 immersed in a boiling acid solution Email: [email protected] From about 1550 until 1850, felt to thicken and harden it. Finishing hats were fashionable in much of processes included steaming the hat Europe and the felt hat industry to shape and ironing it. In all these became the driving force behind the steps, hatters working in poorly fur trade. By the late 1500's, the ventilated workshops would breathe beaver was extinct in western in the mercury compounds and Europe and was close to extinction accumulate the metal in their bodies. in Scandinavia and Russia. The See our new Video photo slide North American fur trade became a show on our website at new source and kept the fashion going for another 200 years http://frontierslivinghistory.tripod .com/frontiers1.htm

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This section describes the process of parchment beaver became widely different types of fluff: one part dry making a beaver felt hat during the known, the English and French felt castor from a sun dried beaver pelt 1700's and early 1800's. A variety of makers preferred the parchment which still retained its guard hairs factors contributed to the cost of beaver. and two parts greasy beaver with beaver felt hats including the great the guard hairs removed due to the distance the fur traveled to get to the The Process friction of wear by native people. hat makers and the rugged Step 1: Preparing the Fur The wool of the greasy beaver was conditions under which the trip was thought to make a more luxuriant often made. Once the fur reached the Pulling hat. hat maker however, a long and To prepare the fur for felting, the Carding complicated process was still guard hairs had to be removed. required to convert it into a desirable These hairs were unsuitable for the Both types of fluff were then carded hat. Given the time and effort Hatter's purposes. The pelt would be together. Carding is the process of involved, a beaver felt hat was placed on the Hatter's knee and with taking fibers that are arranged in a considered extremely valuable. thumb and a large knife (or random form and organizing them so they are ready for the next step in the European gentlemen wanted fine tweezers), the guard hairs would be felting process. hats. Quality hats demanded the best pulled leaving only the beaver wool felting material available. Beaver fur on the skin. Weighing was an excellent raw material. Carroting The fluff was then weighed Beaver fur is tight yet supple and A solution of "nitrate of mercury" according to the amount needed for will hold it's shape far better under the particular size and thickness of rough wear and successive wettings would be brushed on the pelt. This produced a yellow-red color on the hat to be made. This would be about than felt made from wool or other 8 to 12 ounces of fluff, usually types of fur. fur tips. The fur became "carrot" colored. The mercury caused equivalent to the amount produced Two types of pelts were sought. by one prime beaver. Coat and parchment. miniature scales to raise on each Coat beaver were pelts that had been individual fiber. This roughened the Step 2: Matting worn by Indians as winter coats fiber and increased the wool's Bowing before trading them. matting ability. The pelt would be The process of bowing was both a Parchment beaver were those pelts dried and then the wool shaved from cleaning and fluffing operation. At trapped for immediate trade. it using a semi-circular knife. this stage, the fluff would begin to Of the two types, coat beaver was Note: In subsequent steps using heat mat together loosely. Bowing was preferred until the late 17th century and moisture, the mercury would be done by placing the fluff on a hurdle because it was easier to process. released as a vapor. After long term or square table with many evenly Prior to the end of the 17th century, exposure to these fumes, the amount spaced parallel slots. The table only the Russians new how to of mercury in the Hatter's body would reach dangerous levels would be located by a window to comb the wool, from parchment provide good lighting. Drafts were to beaver. Therefore those pelts Mercury attacks the nervous system avoided to keep the valuable fluff had be sent to Russia for causing uncontrolled muscle from blowing away during the processing. Of course, sending twitching, a lurching gait, difficulties process. Hatters considered bowing the pelts to Russia added more to talking and thinking. Eventually, the an art and one of the most delicate the cost of the hats produced. term "mad as a hatter" became a parts of the process. common description of someone Coat beaver could be processed experiencing severe mental The fluff was divided and bowed without sending the pelts to Russia problems. Many Hatters eventually one half at a time. The Hatter's bow because the Indians had worn off the died of mercury poisoning. resembled a large violin bow. It guard hairs before trading the pelts. hung from the ceiling directly over Mixing The main disadvantage of coat the hurdle. The bow's one string beaver was the uneven quality. Once Once the wool was removed from would be plucked with the thumb or the Russian technique for processing the pelt, it was called fluff. For the with a wooden bow pin. finest hats the Hatter would mix two

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Planking What remained at the bottom This caused the string to vibrate over became the brim of the hat. The brim and among the fibers. The wool was The hat now ballooned, was placed would be cut with a rim-jack at the fluffed, separated and agitated by in a large copper kettle to complete desired size. Before being dyed, this process. Dust and dirt fell the next process called planking. In some initial trimming and brushing through the parallel slots in the the kettle was a very hot solution of may have occurred. The surface of hurdle. The wool was spread out diluted sulfuric acid, beer-grounds the hat might further be treated to much like rolling a pie crust and the and wine sediments. The hat body make the nap as fine as possible by fibers continued matting together. was immersed in this solution over rubbing it with pumice or seal-skin. and over again. Then it was worked The wool, now called a batt, would by hand or with a rolling pin on Dyeing be in the shape of a large oval sheet sloping planks located around one about 4 feet long, 3 feet wide and 6 Still wet from the planking stage, the side of the kettle. The Hatters to 12 inches high. Pressure would be hat would first require drying before protected their hands from scalding applied with a slotted wooden being placed back on another block by either wearing a sort of glove or Hatter's basket and maybe an oil for dyeing. The block and hat by first dipping their hands in a cloth. By this point the fibers were (sometimes mounted on a rotating bucket of cold water. The process of matting together enough to allow wheel), would be placed in a very using pressure, heat and moisture handling of the batt. The procedures large dyer's copper. This was so helped compact the felt to half its are then repeated with the other half large it would often hold ten to former size! of the beaver wool producing a twelve dozen hats at one time! The second batt. In some cases, plating may have dyer's copper could be filled with a occurred. This was usually done on dye made of "logwood, verdigris, Basoning cheaper hats made from a mixture of copperas and alder-bark". The hat The next step is not well understood. other furs. A thin batt of cotton and would be kept boiling in this mixture It appears each batt was manipulated beaver would be made and wrapped for about an hour and then removed into a triangular shape called a on the outside of the conical hat to cool. This would be repeated ten capade or gore. Then additional body. With pressure it could be to twelve times until the hat became fluff was placed where the brim, manipulated to become securely the desired color. crown and circumference of the brim attached to the rest of the hat body. would be located. Each capade was Stiffening and Waterproofing wrapped in a leather skin called a Step 3: Shaping and Finishing Stiffening and waterproofing were hardening skin and placed on the It seems that there were different the most closely guarded secrets of bason. The bason was a wooden steps used by different Hatters at this the Hatter's. For stiffening, "gum bench with an iron plate located in point. The differences may have Arabic, common gum and Flaunder's the center. Under the plate was a been part of "trade secrets" or simply glue", would be dissolved in water small heat source. The batt was differences in the way individual and brushed mostly on the underside sprinkled with water, heated and Hatters liked to finish their work. of the hat. This kept the mixture worked with the hands. Of course, There are some basic techniques from ruining the outside appearance unbeknownst to the Hatter, the heat they probably all used. of the hat. It is reported that some was releasing the dangerous mercury hats were so stiff that they could fumes. Basoning used heat, pressure Blocking support the weight of a 200 pound and moisture to strengthen and The shrunken hat body, still in shape man! Waterproofing would probably condense the batt. of a cone, would be forced on a have occurred earlier, during the planking stage, by rubbing a ball of After the two triangular batts were block made of wood. The block acted as a mold, roughly creating the "rosin, bee's wax and mutton suet" condensed, they were placed one on desired style and size of the top hat. on the inside of the hat. top of the other and manipulated Blocking occurred by tying a cord further around the edges to form a Steaming, Ironing and Brushing around the top of the crown and cone. It probably looked very much In order to make the hat more pliable like an oversized dunce cap at this driving this down toward the base of for a few last finishing touches, the block using a copper or iron point. Since the hat body is still very steam would be applied and the hat stamper. This tightly stretched the large it required further shrinkage returned to the block. Any seams hat body over the block. and toughening. would be disguised.

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Minor alterations of shape would Fashionable European and American take place based on the style of the men had been wearing beaver felt time. Ironing and brushing would hats for centuries, but top hats were produce a smooth and glossy an early nineteenth century surface. Finally, the brim would be phenomenon. During Martin's turned up slightly and trimmed with lifetime the beaver population in ribbon. New England and the Great Lakes Lining area became so depleted that hat makers gave up making top hats of Once the desired shape and gloss beaver felt and turned to silk plush were produced, an adjustable lining as its replacement. Martin's hat, was carefully sewn in. The hat therefore, represents the end of the would be further lined with a leather beaver hat era. ban on the inside lower edge of the hat. Finally, the hat would be Cook made this hat out of beaver complete with the stamping of the probably caught by Native company's trademark on the leather Americans in the Great Lakes region headband. possibly even in Wisconsin, and traded East. After receiving the At last the hat was ready for market. beaver pelts. Considering the lengthy process, from the pelt being trapped, Cook stopped making hats when he transported and then transformed in was in his early 60s, about the time the hatting factory, it is not beaver pelts became hard to obtain. surprising that a fine beaver felt top We know that he lived into his early hat was a prized possession. 80s, but his last twenty years may Ref: White Oak Society, Inc not have been easy for him. The http://www.whiteoak.org/learning/furhat mercury brushed on the beaver pelts .htm became a vapor when the hatter ironed the felt during the finishing Beaver Top Hat process. This vaporized mercury attacked the worker's nervous system Top hat made from beaver felt Hat Details: Crown has concentric and worn by Green Bay resident and gave him the "hatter's shakes," circles showing it was pressed flat which started in the eyelids, but Morgan L. Martin, c. 1825. from a cone shape Made by Hatter Orel Cook made its way to the limbs and tongue (Wisconsin Historical Museum - giving those affected "a lurching Museum object #1968.644) gait" and "tangled tongue," and eventually affected his brain turning Orel Cook, the Rutland, Vermont hat him into a "Mad Hatter" as portrayed manufacturer who made Martin's by Lewis Carroll in Alice in hat, had a large enough Wonderland. establishment to keep "quite a number of workmen in the There is a possibility that the beavers business." Because of this, he used by Cook to make Martin's hat probably had extra stock he could traveled full circle. Growing up and ship to dealers in New York. being hunted in the Great Lakes According to an 1886 Rutland region, sent to Vermont to be made County history, Cook began making into hats, and coming back home on hats before 1808 and continued to do Morgan Martin's head in Green Bay. so until around 1839. Ref: Wisconsin Historical Museum - Orel Cook’s Maker’s mark , known Curators' Favorites at the time as a “Tip Dye” http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museu on the interior of the hat m/artifacts/archives.asp

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