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Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7
Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7 Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7

Antique Silk Top Hat w Victorian Leather Travel Case Christys’ London Size 7

$650.00

Brand Poppy's Vintage Clothing

This is a very nice quality antique silk top hat made by venerable hat maker Christys’ of London.  Miller Christy established his hat making business in 1773 and the business was located at 35 Gracechurch by 1789.  The accompanying leather case appears to be older than the hat, the hat most likely dating to the 1910s and the case to the Victorian era (19th century).     

The hat is blind embossed on the interior with the 35 Gracechurch address (see photo) and is stamped on the liner with the various Exhibition medals won by Christys along with the Christys’ trade mark and the retailer’s name, Holt, Renfrew & Co. Limited of Canada.  The hat is sized as a size 7 and measures 22 1/8” around the sweatband and 6 1/4” by 8” across the opening.  The crown has a height of 5 1/2”,  It comes with a green velvet pad that is gold stamped with Holt Renfrew, used to smoothen the plush silk.  The case is lined in quilted blue satin, as is the interior cover.  It has a number of labels affixed to the exterior along with the original owner’s initials J.C.S. and Montreal stencilled on the front.  We can date the case by the Beaver Line label - it was still owned by Elder, Dempster & Co, and was acquired by Canadian Pacific in 1903, so the case pre-dates that year. 

The hat is in very good condition, but the silk could use a bit of a brushing in places.  Otherwise, the silk is in great condition with no loss of silk at the edges as other seen on old top hats.  There are a few marks to the liner that I haven’t tried to clean, but these are quite minor.  The owner’s initials of JCS are faintly handwritten on the sweatband.

As with many of these cases, the leather strap that would have secured the lid is detached, probably because the key was lost.  The latch was saved and is still present in the case, so a leather expert would be able to create another strap and attach the latch so it could be secured.  If you wanted it to lock, you would have to have a locksmith make a new key.  

This is a wonderful antique silk top hat by a venerable London maker with a wonderful display case - great acquisition for a size 7!