Cocked Hat
Date1785-1795
MediumBlack felted fur, linen (lining and ties, silk (button), wood (button)
DimensionsCircumference of crown inside: 22 1/4" Overall width 17 1/4"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1960-911
DescriptionMan's hat of black felted fur, cocked up on three sides, higher in back, with crown flattened at top. On left side, a button 1 1/2" diameter, originally covered with black and wrapped threads. Pair of tie tapes on either side of button, spaced 1 3/4" apart. Crown lined with tabby linen. Evidence of trimming remains at the edges of the brim.Construction History:
1. Initial Construction 1750-1790
2. Date Unknown - possible narrow edge binding removed
Label TextCocked Hat
Britain, worn in New Hampshire, 1750-1790
Felted fur trimmed with silk, lined with linen
1960-911
Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795), a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first governor of New Hampshire, wore this cocked hat. Although the modern term for this style is "tricorn hat," the eighteenth-century name was a cocked hat. A nineteenth-century descendant attached a handwritten paper label on which Bartlett's name was written.
Markings"B[a]rtlett" on later paper tag pinned to interior of hat.
ProvenanceSaid to have been owned by Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795) of Kingston, New Hampshire, first Governor of NH and Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Colonel in the Revolutionary War and founder of the New Hampshire Medical Society.
