more on mitre hat

[blueman]

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2012/post-10499-0-99503800-1353494336.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2012/post-10499-0-77733700-1353494347.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2012/post-10499-0-39953100-1353494359.jpg

hat just arrived ,with my limited knowlage i do think its origional certainly old hand stitched etc,does anyone know expert to veryfy....cheers boys....kev

[peter monahan]

Kev

You might try info@militaryheritage.com Peter and Robert are experts on the late 18th,early 19th century British Army and produce museum quality replicas of uniforms, head gear etc. One of them may be able to help with an expert opinion.

[Don't tell 'em i sent you! ]

Peter

[jf42]

Certainly not an authentic British grenadier 'mitre' cap from C18th Century, although it draws on design elements from the pre-1768 cap- the White Horse of Hanover, a Garter star, etc. As stated on another site, this would appear to be a part of a C20th theatrical costume. The character of 'Serjeant Kite' from George Farquar's "Recruiting Officer" (written in 1706) is a possible candidate.

[blueman]

no this is not theatrical it is all hand stitched they would not go to all that trouble ,certainly older,cloth is 18th centuary

[Tony Barton]

There's no real way of telling the age of a piece of cloth without a detailed analysis of the thread count , the weave used , and the dye.... and even then you are left with the result of pre or post industrial , meaning roughly before or after 1860 . Anything else is a hunch based on experience , which can be pretty good, but is not absolutely reliable.

As has already been said this looks like a theatrical prop : the fact that it's handsewn in parts is not in the least remarkable : the badges at least would have to be .

The red cloth itself doesn't look much like a woolen cloth at all , though obviously that's hard to tell from a pic.

But , sorry , this would have been made either for a pageant ( very popular in late Victorian and Edwardian times ), or possibly a stage production.

The fact that the emblems are bodged and misunderstood completely puts it outside the military sphere .

[Mervyn Mitton]

Sorry Kev - the weight of opinion is against you. I think Tony sums it up well - and I agree with the various points made by others.

Mervyn

[peter monahan]

I only glanced at this item initially, before my last post. Looking at it more carefully, I have to agree that the cloth is not old enough for this to be authentic. British red wool cloth, used for tunics and, in this case, headgear is a very very thick 'fulled wool': a very tight weave which was then boiled to shrink it and is so tight that edges need not be hemmed. One certainly couldn't see the weave clearly, as is the case on this hat, unless it were in a spot on the garment where it got constant rubbing - cuffs of a coat, back of the collar and so on. This, judging by the relatively open weave, is a cheaper grade of wool so, sadly, not form the period of the British mitre cap, which were last worn before 1803. :(