Textile: P. T. Barnum's Top Hat Case

Brown leather traveling case made to fit a man's top hat. This case came with P. T. Barnum's taupe color top hat [1971.2.1A] when given to the museum in 1971. It appears to be from the same time period as the top hat, about 1830. The case is heavy, meant to withstand the rigors of travel in a crowded coach (and travel by train, when railroads came into being some years later). Since a top hat was an expensive item, a carrying case was a wise investment to keep the hat from being dented or crushed when traveling. The cylindrical leather base is rigid and sturdy. It flares out at the top with a wide lip that fits snugly inside the lip of the lid. The lid is distinctively shaped, forming a slight V instead of being flat. A sturdy leather handle, rounded for comfort, is attached to the center of the lid. Leather straps secure the lid with buckles, though the straps are now stiff and broken. Inside, the case is well padded and lined with a patterned fabric in a soft gold color. The cylindrical container inside the case lid was likely intended for gloves or a scarf, and has its own circular lid to keep the items in place. It is covered with bright blue wallpaper and edged in yellow; the style and color of the wallpaper date to the 1820s -1830s period. P. T. Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut, on July 5, 1810, and died in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 7, 1891. Though best remembered today for his Greatest Show on Earth and his circus partnership with James A. Bailey in the 1880s, Barnum began his career as a newspaperman. He published his first issue of the Herald of Freedom in Bethel on October 19, 1831 when he was just 21 years old. (The paper was later renamed the Herald of Freedom and Gospel Witness.) Barnum continued his weekly paper for three years, traveling frequently to Hartford, Connecticut, to gather the latest news from the State Capitol. The leather case and top hat date from this time period in his life when he was starting out to make a name for himself (though not yet as a showman), and was a married man, soon to have a daughter. The hat bears a Hartford, Connecticut, label. The case has no source or maker information on it, but may have been purchased in Hartford as well.