{{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 (also called ''standing bands'' 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 milliners 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 and a collapsible version for evenings, known as a 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'' in 1844 warned travellers that Blackwall Railway's porters had charged 1d 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> {{clearleft}}
==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 military hat worn by 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