artenol0215_22

Head Gear
A High
The brilliant career
of the top hat
By Edward Tenner
ROYAL
MARINE
22
Bell Crown
Topper
wikimedia.org
1The top hat took shape in the aftermath of the French
Revolution, a variant of the practical “round hat” worn
by country gentlemen for riding and hunting. One of the
best representations is Jean-Louis David’s portrait of his
brother-in-law, Pierre Sériziat, in the Louvre.
It began its
2 urban life as an
emblem of everything
progressive,
as worn by the
new democratic
era’s leading feminist
author, Mary
Wollstonecraft,
in the National
Portrait Gallery.
National Portrait Gallery, London
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Though an international style,
3 the top hat became a favorite of the
English, known throughout the nineteenth
century for the finest craftsmanship. In this
painting, based on an actual shipboard visit,
Charles Eastlake records a Royal Marine
probably assigned to guarding Napoleon
on his voyage to St. Helena. The top hat
was replacing the bicornes and tricornes of
the old regime, announcing the rule of the
British seaborne empire.
FALL 2015