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As seen on BBC TV's 'Great Antiques Hunt'
Winner, 1996
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HISTORY & ART TO
WEAR |
GLITZQUEEN HOLDS COURT ON HATPINS
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From
our last column on shoe ornaments, we ascend now to the lofty
heights of Hair Jewelry. The
breathtaking Roman pin at right, carved from bone, dates from the
first century and we can reasonably assume that, even before
recorded history, women were using similarly formed (though less
elegant) items to arrange their hair and secure their headgear.
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Such
pins enjoyed a heyday in the Middle Ages, when veils and
wimples adorned all proper ladies.
The one below, also carved from bone, dates
from that era. These
are rare, but can still be found at times; I purchased
this in England about 10 years ago.
Bone
hairpin topped by the figure of a crowned queen. Medieval.
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Far
more commonly collected are the pins crafted in great
profusion during Victorian times.
Through the intervening centuries, while
gentlemen communicated their status by wearing hats,
ladies’ head coverings were hoods, caps fastened with
tiny pins and bonnets tied under the chin by ribbons or
strings. These
strings became so symbolic of womanly style that early
feminists rushed to get rid of them.
Freedom from “bonnet strings” was identified
with the drive for equality, no less than the bra
burnings that ensued 150 years later.
Some historians actually theorize that the
women’s suffrage movement began with the invention of
the pin-making machine in 1832.
Producing
functional and decorative pins was a thriving cottage industry
at the start of the 19th century and these
handcrafted pins were so costly and treasured that stealing
them was a hanging offense and they were cited specifically in
bequests. Despite
their high price, demand in England skyrocketed.
By 1820, French imports threatened the balance of
trade, so Parliament restricted the sale of pins to just two
days annually (January 1st and 2nd). In
order to spend lavishly on those dates, ladies saved all year,
which was the probable origin of the phrase "pin
money". Another
possible source of the term was that Queen Victoria taxed her
subjects at the start of each year to pay for her pins, but
she didn’t ascend the throne until 1837.
By then, pin-making machinery patented in the U.S. in
1832 was also operating on a large scale in England and
France.
Not
everyone was pleased for the process to become less
labor-intensive, though.
For
instance, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:
Let
us be content, in work
To do the thing we can, and not presume
To fret because it’s little. ‘Twill employ
Seven men, they say, to make a perfect pin:
Who makes the head, content to miss the point:
Who makes the point, agreed to leave the join:
And if a man should cry ‘I want a pin,
And I must make it straightaway, head and point,’
His wisdom is not worth the pin he wants.
Seven men to a pin and not a man too much.
There
was no holding back the Industrial Revolution, though – nor the
growing ranks of Suffragettes, who wouldn’t tie on a bonnet on a
bet! When we admire the gorgeous hatpins worn between the 1830s and
1920s, it’s poignant to remember that these were much more
than fashion statements.
Although
they quickly evolved into ornate jewels, the first commercially
produced hatpins were simple skewers of base metal with tapering
tips, ranging from about four inches to a foot long. Various sizes
were required for different types of hats and the pins were often
worn in pairs or larger groups.
So-called “sportin’ women” who enjoyed vigorous
activities ran pins in opposing directions through their
wide-brimmed sailor hats and puffed hair or Psyche knots, and soon
their hatpins were sportin’ end pieces shaped like golf clubs,
horseshoes and hockey sticks. Others expressed more sedate tastes
with ornaments such as musical instruments, animals, sea shells,
sparkling paste stones or sequins, fabric rosettes, mosaics,
filigree balls or crested porcelain buttons.
Ladies at the top end of the market opted for silver or gold
pins embellished with cameos, enameled and gilded Satsuma-ware
accents or gemstones including topaz, garnet, cairngorm, amethyst,
jet, moonstone and pearl.
The
finest hatpins frequently have adjustable ends, allowing their
gemstone ornaments to swivel toward light, regardless of how the pin
is inserted. Some even
hold containers that screw open to reveal a tiny mirror and powder
puff or a vinaigrette filled with smelling salts. Among
the most famous makers were Charles Horner of Halifax in England
and, in the U.S., the Unger Brothers, William Link, Paye & Baker
and Tiffany. Crested
porcelain button ends by Goss are particularly well regarded.
As the
hatpin craze grew, fueled by increased availability, hats grew, too.
Inspired by music hall performers Lillian Russell and Lily
Langtry (aka Diamond Lil and Jersey Lil), headwear took on
enormous proportions and was secured by the super-huge 18” pins of
the late 19th century and early 20th
centuries. These caused
numerous accidents, including the blinding of at least one shopper
during a frenzied sale. Legislation
was passed in reaction to this trend:
In some areas, point covers were mandated for the longest
pins, or their allowable length was restricted in public places.
By 1908, they were widely considered deadly weapons. An
English judge, fearing attack in his court, insulted Suffragettes on
trial by demanding they remove their hats and pins.
Young
girls were in fact encouraged to think of their pins in these terms,
as recorded by this rather bawdy Cockney music hall ballad, NEVER
GO WALKING OUT WITHOUT YOUR HAT PIN:
My
Granny was a very shrewd old lady,
The
smartest woman that I ever met.
She
used to say, "Now listen to me, Sadie,
There's
one thing that you never must forget."
Never
go walking out without your hat pin.
The
law won't let you carry more than that.
For
if you go walking out without your hat pin,
You
may lose your head as well as lose your hat."
My
Granny said men never could be trusted.
No
matter how refined they might appear.
She
said that many maidens' hearts got busted
Because
men never had but one idea.
I've
heard that Grandpa really was a mess,
So
Grandma knew whereof she spoke, I guess.
Never
go walking out without your hat pin.
Not
even to some very classy joints.
For
when a fellow sees you've got a hat pin
He's
very much more apt to get the point.
My
Mama, too, set quite a bad example.
She
never heeded Grandmama's advice.
She
found that if you give a man a sample,
The
sample somehow never does suffice.
In
fact, it's rumored I might not have been
If
Mum had not gone out without her pin.
Never
go walking out without your hat pin.
It's
about the best protection you have got.
For
if you go walking out without your hat pin,
You
may come home without your you-know-what!
Feathers
featured on this era’s overlarge hats became an issue, as well.
Hunters supplying them to milliners had devastated more than
60 bird species by 1913, when The Audubon Society was formed to lead
an outcry. Soon World
War I led to more austerity and practicality in dress; hats got
smaller and pin styles ran to the patriotic (such as button ends
with regimental crests). After
the war, the discovery of King Tut’s tomb briefly prompted
creation of hatpins in the Egyptian Revival manner but, by the
1920s, women had won the vote and greater independence generally,
besides their hair was cropped short and better suited to
close-fitting cloche hats.
Having
gone out of fashion, hatpins proceeded to become coveted pieces of
the past. From a
collecting standpoint, by far the most important thing to bear in
mind about them is how easy it is to fake an antique jewel of this
nature. Being no expert
in this arena, which requires highly detailed knowledge
of materials, design, weight and construction, my best
recommendation is that you buy these only from reputable dealers
who’ve made hatpins a specialty.
According to sources I’ve read, it’s likely that only 10
percent of hatpins sold on eBay are authentic, and fakes often sell
there for $300 to $1,000.
This
rampant fakery takes several forms:
fantasies (resembling nothing from the period and called
in the trade “beads on a stick”), reproductions (using
new materials and methods) and marriages (combining stems,
tops and/or findings that didn’t begin life together).
If you’re serious about informing yourself, I understand
that the ultimate book on the subject is Lillian Baker’s The
Collector's Encyclopedia of Hatpins and Hatpin Holders,
which is loaded with pictures suitable for careful study.
Unfortunately, it dates from 1976 and now is out of print and
rather hard to find.
There
are also hatpin societies, both in the U.S. and U.K., making
extremely useful information available to members.
RESOURCES
Excellent examples of fake hatpins are
shown at http://members.aol.com/frankie854/repro.html
and a few esteemed
dealers I’m aware of are these:
The
Hatpin Gallery - http://members.aol.com/frankie854/gallery.html
Favorite
Past-Times Antiques - http://www.maine-antiques.com/fpt/Hatpins/hatpins.html
Lady
A Antiques - http://www.lady-a.com/antiques/HATPINS.html#Lady%20A%20Antiques
Antique
Connection - http://www.antiqueconnection.com/find_forms/find_hatpin.html
If
interested in carnival glass, you may also want to see these
splendid examples of common and uncommon types:
http://www.ddoty.com/hatpinsunusual.html
http://www.ddoty.com/hatpinscom.html
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