Hat, bowler hat

The bowler or coke hat had started out in the 19th century as a practical working man's hat. By the 1920s it had risen up the social scale to become a 'posh' hat for city businessmen or working class men with pretensions - as worn by Charlie Chaplin in his films. This hat was made by James Lock & Co., London hatters since 1676.

Black felt bowler hat; black petersham ribbon and binding; cream printed leather sweat band; crown lining of champagne coloured (B.C.C. 4) silk printed 'LOCK & CO./ HATTERS/ ST. James's Street,/ LONDON'; stiffened domed crown and shallow brim, turned up at the sides; petersham binding on brim and petersham ribbon hat band at base of crown with stitched down bow (some stitches loose) at LS; inside leather sweat band, the back section of which is cut to create a channel through which cords are passed to tie in a bow at the CB; the inside edge of the underside of the brim is finished with black silk piping.