# Hat box

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{{Short description|Container for storing headgear}}
{{About|the container|short notes placed at the very top of an article|:Wikipedia:Hatnote}}
thumb|A collection of vintage branded hat boxes of varying sizes
thumb|A boy carrying an assortment of hat boxes in New York City {{Circa|1912}}

A '''hat box''' (also commonly '''hatbox''' and sometimes '''hat bucket''', '''hat tin''' or '''bandbox''') is a container for storing and transporting headgear, protecting it from damage and dust. A more generic term for a box used to carry garments, including headgear, is a bandbox. Typically, a hat box is deep and round in shape, although it may also be boxlike and used as an item of luggage for transporting a variety of hats.<ref name="Dictionary Brooks Picken">{{cite book|last1=Brooks Picken|first1=Mary|title=A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern|date=2010|publisher=Dover Publications|location=United States|isbn=978-0486402949|pages=170|edition=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbOI4TCcnbQC&dq=mary+brooks+picken+%2B+mushroom+hat&pg=PA165|access-date=6 January 2015}}</ref>

Hat boxes may be made of a range of materials, including cardboard, leather or metal.<ref name="Our Ontario">{{cite web|title=Sir Isaac Brock Hat Box|url=http://images.ourontario.ca/1812/71018/data|website=ourontario.ca|publisher=1812 History|access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref> They may include straps or a carrying handle for transportation. More luxurious models may be padded and lined in materials such as silk in order to protect the headgear.<ref name="BBC history of the world">{{cite web|title=Victorian Hat Box and Top Hats|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/hRSUjgH6Se2tjyDAoCe7uA|website=bbc.co.uk/historyoftheworld|publisher=BBC|access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>

==History==
thumb|left|Hat boxes may be made of a variety of materials, including metal.

The concept derives from the earlier ''bandbox'', which was used to store and protect [ruffs](/source/Ruff_(clothing)) (also called ''standing [bands](/source/Bands_(neckwear))'' or ''neckbands'') in the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|bandbox}}</ref>

The hat box became a popular item in the 19th century – matching the popularity of hats for both day and evening wear – and accessories were produced to assist with both storage and cleaning.<ref name="Vam Top hat box">{{cite web|title=Top hat|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78909/top-hat-dunlap-co/|website=vam.ac.uk|publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum|access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref> While [milliner](/source/milliner)s often packaged designs they sold in cardboard hat boxes, more robust designs were produced for travelling. Some designs were made to store more than one hat – including designs that could store both a daytime [top hat](/source/top_hat) and a collapsible version for evenings, known as a [gibus](/source/gibus).<ref name="BBC history of the world" /> They might also include storage space for items such as a hat brush.<ref name="Vam Top hat box" />

Designs became quite large during the Edwardian era. A letter to ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'' in 1844 warned travellers that [Blackwall Railway](/source/London_and_Blackwall_Railway)'s porters had charged [1d](/source/Penny) to carry a hat box onto the train and a further 6d for transporting it to the London terminus, with the traveller himself paying only 4d for the journey. He recommended that travellers with luggage should go by steamboat.<ref name="The Times 18720">{{cite news|title=Blackwall Railway: To the Editor of The Times|issue=18720|work=The Times|date=20 September 1844|ref=pg.8}}</ref>
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==Design variations==
While traditionally hat boxes are circular or square in shape, some versions may follow the shape of the hat. New York Historical Society archives include a crescent shaped cardboard design thought to be from the early to mid 19th century and attributed to the New York City hatmaker Elisha Bloomer; Canadian archives include a tin design curved to match the [tricorne-style](/source/Tricorne) military hat worn by [Isaac Brock](/source/Isaac_Brock) and dating from 1812.<ref name="Our Ontario"/><ref name="NY Historical Society">{{cite web|title=Museum collections: Luce Center|url=http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibit/hat-box-2|website=nyhistory.org|access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Hat boxes}}
{{wiktionary|hatbox}} 
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/115279 Shaped leather hat box in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art]
{{Hats}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Hats
Category:Headgear
Category:History of fashion
Category:Luggage

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hat box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hat_box) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hat_box?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.