The Process of Hat-Making Explained, Robert Lloyd

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The process of hat making explained with preferatory remarks, et cetera,
et cetera, by Robert Lloyd. This is a LibriVox recording.
All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Turks
are said to assign as a reason for not wearing

(00:23):
hats that they are put together by witchcraft. There is
certainly a great deal of ingenuity in the practice, and
some effects produced whose causes as are yet unexplained. But
with all due deference to these turban gentlemen, it is
presumed that they have objections beyond what is above stated,
some of which are as follows. First, their country is

(00:46):
destitute of the most essential material fur. Second, the climate
being extremely sultry, stoves, irons, and scalding water are not
likely to become favorites. Third, being compelled by their religion
to keep their heads close shaved, a hat above all

(01:06):
human inventions would be the most ridiculous covering they could adopt.
There are many opinions as to the time hats were
first invented, and very probably all equally erroneous. Some carry
the date as far back as the foundation of Christianity,
attributing the merit to Saint Luke, of whom it is

(01:26):
said that he, having tender feet, put a layer of
hair or fur between them and his sandals, in which
situation friction and moisture caused such an interweaving of particles
that the whole became strongly united, or technically called felted.
Whether the story as applied to Luke be true or

(01:48):
false is immaterial, but that such did happen with someone
is very likely, nor is it at all unlikely, but
that an occurrence of this kind did really give the
first idea of hat making. Having remarked thus much, I
shall next proceed to state what is not the less
true than surprising, which is that of the various branches

(02:11):
of manufacture which this country is so highly distinguished, for
none are less understood than hat making. Nay, there is
not one person in fifty who, if he were asked
the question, could tell whether a hat was or was
not a woven substance, nor is there one in five hundred.
But what suppose that the skin of a hare or

(02:33):
rabbit is worked with the fur attached to it, as
in the natural state, and to form a correct judgment
of the external material when manufactured, whether it be hair,
wool or beaver, although many pretend none are really competent,
but those experienced in the trade to show the absurd
notions some entertain on this matter. I state as a

(02:55):
fact that I do not know a manufacturer or seller
in the trade. But what has been applied to by
some one or other to have a beaver hat made
from a hair's skin? Nay? I remember once offending a
very good customer and a man not wanting for sense
either by an involuntary burst of laughter on his presenting

(03:17):
the skin of a French lap dog for the very
same purpose. It is no uncommon thing for persons who
are on pretty good terms with their capabilities, to give
opinions as to the merits or d merits of a hat,
which opinions are as opposite to the true state of
the case as the sun's rays to the state of darkness.

(03:38):
I shall give an instance, although a trifling one, of
a very common air among persons who suppose themselves to
have a knowledge of the subject, which is this, if
the picker has not a very good eye, some of
the larger hairs will be left in the hat and
consequently the most visible. These are directly termed gray hairs,

(03:58):
when the truth is that they are the blackest in
the whole composition, but being thicker than the general mass,
they receive a greater portion of light, which is mistaken
for a gray color. An easy method of proving the
fact is to pull one of these gray hairs from
the hat and place it on a piece of white paper.
The contrast will decide the question. Again, whatever produces a

(04:21):
glutinization of the nap is said to be the effect
of the stiffening. This is not true in every case,
for it is frequently owing to improper management in placing
the hat when wet before a large fire, which should
never be done. The better way is, if very wet,
to hang it up without brushing or wiping, and when

(04:42):
dry it is easily put to rights by gently passing
over a clothes brush. If only slightly wet, wipe it
with a handkerchief, and when dry it will brush clean.
But the great fault with most persons is to put
on their hats day after day in the same dirty
so state as when taken off at night, from which

(05:03):
it is natural to infer that there must be a
vast accumulation of dirt. It is this dirt, when exposed
to the rain, that forms a sort of cement or paste,
having all the appearance of what is commonly called gum.
Another proof of erroneous judgment. Profuse perspiration of the head

(05:23):
is what many are subject to, by reason of which,
from the frequency of wearing and the porosity of the hat,
there is a continual absorption of moisture going on until
it becomes completely saturated, particularly in the front. The consequence
is that the nap lies buried in a greasy matter,
which matter is also but very inappropriately termed gum or stiffening,

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when in point of fact, it is neither, for the
very same effect would under the like circumstances be produced,
and in much less time, if the hat were not
stiffened at all. The best remedy for this is a
piece of thin flannel under the leather, and that frequently changed.
There is nothing so detrimental to a hat as a

(06:11):
severe exposure to rain on the first, second, or even
third time of wearing. For this reason, the materials wherewith
it is composed are in a manner quite green and
require seasoning to effect which it should be frequently put
on in dry weather. I have always found that a
hat constantly worn for five or six weeks without being wet,

(06:34):
underwent every sort of hardship afterwards, with little or no injury,
retaining at the same time its beauty form, and wearing
three times longer than it otherwise would have done. It
may be asked, why not to prevent accidents render the
hat waterproof, that is impervious to the action of either

(06:55):
atmosphere or rain. The thing is easy enough, I admit,
But where there is a choice of only two evils,
it is always best to select the least. We all
know or should know, that if a man were to
enclose himself arms, legs, and body in what is called
an oil skin dress, and that drawn close round the neck,

(07:18):
the hole tightly fitted to every part of his person
as a hat is to the head, the most unpleasant
consequences would ensue. The cause why is obviously this The
exhalations of the body, particularly in a state of exertion, would,
when so enclosed, be either prevented from flying off as

(07:38):
nature requires, or otherwise checked altogether. Precisely so with the head.
If the porosity of the hat was destroyed, which it
must be to resist effectually the action of water. This
deduction must be so clear and self evident that further
reasoning is unnecessary. Another great objection against waterproof hats is

(08:01):
that the ingredients made use of for such purposes, when
exposed to the sun's heat, are so acted upon as
to cause a decomposition of the color, and nine times
in ten the hat, before it is half worn out,
becomes anything but what it was meant to be. It
is astonishing to hear the number of qualifications a hat

(08:23):
is said to have, and each as opposite to the
other as it is possible for any two things to be. Some,
for instance, maintain that it cannot be good unless it
is light. Others again, will decidedly condemn it for being so,
insisting that the chief recommendation is its being firm and stout.

(08:43):
All that is requisite to be observed on this is
that weight has no more to do with the quality
of a hat than the situation of prime Minister has
to do with the cramming of turkeys. A very inferior
hat may be made equally light with the most superior,
and in both cases the cost of manufacture will be
less than if they were made stout. The length of

(09:06):
the beaver two is another point on which the difference
of opinion is often experienced. Many are for very short naps,
declaring all others to be outrageously vulgar. But the majority
of wearers seem best pleased with long naps, which always
take and retain the best black, while on the contrary,

(09:26):
those that are very short never do. A medium between
the two is the most preferable. Having stated thus much,
I shall next proceed to explain in what way a
fine hat is made, describing as accurately as possible, the
various processes it undergoes, as also the materials with which
it is composed, the proportions of each, as well as

(09:49):
the quantity of work a man is capable of doing,
whether maker or finisher, in a week, the amount of wages,
together with some of the curious regulations by law use,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. In the first place,
as I shall have occasion to mention a few of
the implements by name, a short description of them may

(10:11):
not be amiss. There is the bow, which in form
is not unlike what is used for playing a double bass,
but in length and thickness is equal to a constable staff.
There is a bridge at each end, from one to
the other, of which is tightly strung a stout line
of catgut. The hurdle is situated in what is called

(10:32):
the bow garret, and is a sort of table on
which the fur is bowed or mixed, having the farther
end and sides enclosed to prevent the material from being
blown away. The battery is somewhat like the hopper of
a mill. In this is contained the hot liquor, and
is mostly constructed for eight men, round which they stand

(10:53):
when making. The lower part is led, the upper or
working part mahogany. All back are formed into divisions called planks,
one of which is allotted to each man. There are
many other little things used by makers, but these three
are all that deserve particular notice. The first thing a

(11:13):
maker looks for in the morning is the fur or
raw material, which is furnished to him by weight, the
quantity being more or less according to the substance of
the hat required, and is in two parcels, one of
which contains the beaver or napping, the other the body.
A proportionate scale of both will be seen hereafter, thus

(11:36):
provided he takes it to the bow garret. The materials
for the body are first placed on the hurdle, and
the bow, being hung at the center for support, is
held in the left hand horizontally, so that the catgut
may come in contact with the fur. In the right
hand is placed a small piece of stick with a
nut at the end, and in this position the work

(11:57):
begins after the following manner. The cat gut of the bow,
being first placed in the midst of the fur, is
pulled or struck with a knotted stick, which produces, from
a quick repetition of the stroke, a continued vibration. This vibration,
it is that causes a separation or flitting of the fur,

(12:18):
at the same time mixing and cleansing it. This operation
is continued until such ends are fully attained. It is
next divided into halves, one of which is laid aside
and the other again bowed over. In this second operation,
the workman contrives, partly by bowing and partly by a
slight wicker frame, to bring the material into an oblong

(12:40):
form an equal in size to a larger sheet of
cartridge paper. This is called a bat and when done,
it is gently pressed down by the wicker, after which
a damp linen cloth is laid all over, and on
this again is placed a thick piece of dry horse hide.
The work and now begins to press hard on the

(13:02):
hide for about five minutes. In the doing this, the
fur adheres close to the damp cloth into which it
is doubled up, and once more undergoes the pressure of
the hand. Under this operation, which is called basining, the
bat becomes consolidated and may be thrown when taken out
of the cloth from one end of the garret to

(13:22):
the other without injury. The second half is next bode
formed into a bat and basined as the first. This
half remains on the hurdle, and a piece of paper
somewhat conical is placed on it, over which and agreeable
to the shape, the sides of the bat are doubled.
Here then is formed one half of the body. This

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is laid aside, and the first bat is then put
flat on the hurdle, on which the one previously doubled
is placed with its open part downwards. The lower bat
being transversely doubled over the top hat forms a sort
of conical or Harlequin's cap. In this it is once
more put into the damp cloth, where it receives another

(14:04):
hardening for the purpose of uniting or knitting both bats together.
After this it is folded into the compass of two hands,
ready for the plank. The next thing is the beaver
or covering, which is bowed in form to correspond with
the body, but has nothing to do with it. At
this stage matters being completed. Thus far, this is called

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the first process of hat making. The second commences as follows.
The workman, having gone from the bow gerret to the
making shop, takes his stand at the battery, under which
is a fire for the purpose of heating the liquor. Footnote.
The liquor, which is always kept up to scalding heat,
is nothing more than clean soft water with a wine

(14:48):
glass of vitriol and a small quantity of beard dregs
thrown in. The first is to shrink the body of
the hat in working the other to destroy the pernicious
effects of the vitriol. Into this hot liquor, the body
is quickly immersed, where it remains till soaked through. It
is afterwards laid on the plank to drain and cool.

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This done, it is unfolded, gently rolled, turned at short
intervals in every direction to prevent the sides uniting together,
and as the liquor becomes cold and rolled out, it
is continually supplied with hot and fresh by the sprinkling
of a brush which is dipped in a kettle for
that purpose. Under this operation, assisted by the astringency of

(15:33):
the vitriol, the body shrinks and begins to assume a
tough substance. When it has shrunk to a certain size,
say three fifths if to be double covered, it is
laid flat on the plank and the first coat of beaver,
as it comes from the bow, is laid quite over it.
The brush is now dipped into the hot liquor, the

(15:54):
contents of which is sprinkled all over the beaver. Directly
afterwards it is gently patted down with the hot brush.
Here the body is put into a haircloth, rolled in
hot liquor, turned inside out, rolled again until the beaver
is completely worked into the body. When this is effected,
it is in a fit state to receive the second covering,

(16:16):
which is put on as the first, the working, turning, patting,
and rolling still continuing until it is reduced to a
fit dimension, the beaver quite clean and altogether, assuming a
closely felted, fine solid piece of workmanship, after which it
is immediately blocked in this same liquor to the size wanted,

(16:37):
and put into a stove to dry from whence it
is taken and with a small fine card, the beaver
is gently raised without this one half woodlight buried, and
the beauty lost. Here then is the complete process of
hat making. It is neck sent to the dyer, from
whom it passes to the finisher, who, after stiffening, locking

(17:00):
and half finishing, sends it to be picked, which is
performed by a woman whose place it is to pull
out the camps or thick hairs without injuring the beaver,
although that is not always accomplished. Footnote. It has frequently
been asked why not make a hat with beaver only?
The answer is there is not sufficient stamina or strength

(17:23):
in it to become a sound felted substance. It would
be worse than building a brick house without mortar or
some sort of cement to bind the hole together. End footnote.
From the picker, it returns to the finisher, who, by
the iron and velvet cushion, gives it those highly brilliant
and admired beauties that an English hat is so pre

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eminently distinguished for the shaper next takes it in hand,
who is guided in his operations by the fancy of
the wearer. If bespoke, which is sometimes a little whimsical,
After shaping, it goes to the trimmer, from whom it
is returned to the tipper off he gets it ready
for the wearing. It is then sent to its destination

(18:05):
when the master, if he is fortunate, puts the amount
into his pocket. Footnote. Some have payment beforehand, which brings
out the following old but very foolish saying, there are
but two bad paymasters, he who pays beforehand and he
who never pays. How the latter can be a pay

(18:25):
master requires some little ingenuity to determine end footnote. End
of the process of hat making explained with prefatory remarks
et cetera, et cetera by Robert Lloyd, read by Phil Schampf.