Baltimore Hats, Past and Present

by William Tufts Brigham

The makers of these goods are wholly the poor, ignorant half-breeds, who spring from the Canadian French and the Indian. Finding that hats, as well as the skins of the animals they trapped, could be traded for, the family talent was brought into use to produce something that might contribute to their meagre subsistence. So during the winter season, while the men hunted the muskrat, the Indian women and children plaited straw and made hats, which, on the opening of spring, were carried with the skins obtained by the hunters, to the towns, where they were exchanged for food, drink, clothing and ammunition.

To the advantages of soil and climate is attributed that purity of color, brilliancy of enamel, toughness of fibre and elasticity of texture which are recommendations of the Mackinaw. Added to these natural qualities was the advantage of a peculiar treatment given to the straw by the natives, who employed a whitening or bleaching process without the use of chemicals, giving increased beauty to the article.

During the prosperity of Mackinaw straw plaiting, a prominent character among the half-breeds was one Madame Lousseux, a sturdy, aged matron, with twelve hearty daughters, who, inheriting their mother's prolific nature, were in turn each the proprietress of a family of a dozen boys and girls. They all appeared to inherit the old lady's natural ability and wonderful expertness, and surpassed all competitors in the plaiting of the straw. The choicest products in braid and hats came from the Lousseux family.

In 1834, and for many years after, these goods were sold and used only as ordinary harvest hats. It now seems surprising that an article possessing such attractive merits should have occupied a secondary position and been so long in establishing the reputation it finally secured. The first person, as far as discovered, who used this article for retail purposes as a genteel and fashionable hat, was Henry Griswold in the year 1845, who did business in the then little and obscure town of Racine, Wisconsin. The Raciners must have been people of an appreciative and refined taste, as it appears that Mr. Griswold sold the hat for several seasons to his own advantage.

Prior to 1846 these goods were sold in New York by Leland, Mellen & Co., at that time the largest wholesale hat firm in the country. Mr. Mellen retired from business in 1851. In reply to a personal inquiry of the writer in the year 1874, Mr. Mellen wrote from Framingham, Mass., as follows:

"The Canada straw hat from the region of Detroit was sold by our firm as early as 1845. After being blocked and trimmed, they were sold as an ordinary staple hat. We sold a few to John H. Genin, W.H. Beebe & Co., and Charles Knox, then the leading retail hatters of Broadway. I think, however, they were sold by them only as a fishing or harvest hat. We continued to receive these goods from Detroit for several seasons, until an article from Lower Canada, of inferior quality and less price, made its appearance, and stopped the sale, as far as we were concerned."

The exact date of the appearance of the Mackinaw in Philadelphia cannot be accurately determined, but it must have been as early as 1847. Messrs. Beebe, Coster & Co., a prominent retail firm in Philadelphia, in 1849, sold the tapering crown, wide brim "Canada straw hat." From about 1855 to 1860 the Mackinaw became so very popular in the Quaker City that it was recognized as a leading article. The prominent retailers then using it were Charles Oakford, W.F. Warburton, Louis Blaylock, and Sullender & Pascall; each of these firms themselves finished the straw hats, taking them as they were sewed by the natives, which was with a taper crown and wide brim, making little pretence to any variety in style or proportion. Messrs. Sullender & Pascall made an advanced step and undertook one season to sell the Mackinaw to the exclusion of all other straw hats, preparing them in various shapes and for the first time adapting them to the requirements and tastes of a "nobby" trade.

In 1847 William Ketchem of Buffalo, E.B. Wickes of Syracuse, and John Heywood & Sons of Rochester sold these hats. In 1848 L. Benedict & Co., prominent retailers of Cleveland, handled the goods. This firm was followed next season by Messrs. R. & N. Dockstadter, then a very prominent concern in the same place. In 1849 they were sold in Sandusky by C.C. Keech.

The Mackinaw during these periods must have been introduced and sold in other places, but it had not secured its recognition as an article worthy of being placed on a level with foreign productions, which were then considered the desirable and suitable straw hat for genteel wear. It was probably not until after the year 1855 that the article received its title of "Mackinaw," and not until then did it secure its well merited, dignified position.

By far the largest retailer of the Mackinaw hat in this country, and the one to whom belongs the greatest credit in popularizing it, is Mr. R.Q. Taylor, of Baltimore. He introduced the hat to his customers as far back as 1850, and for thirty consecutive seasons sold it without any apparent diminution of popularity. For many years Mr. Taylor sold the Mackinaw to the exclusion of all other straw hats. At one time so identified did the Mackinaw become with the people of this city, that it was said a Baltimorean might be recognized anywhere by the straw hat he wore. Mr. Taylor asserts that in the years 1872 and 1873 he retailed from his own counter, in the two seasons, upwards of 9000 hats. The reputation of the Mackinaw has been admirably sustained by Mr. Taylor, whose firm is still engaged in their manufacture, with a constant demand for them. Probably no other straw hat ever introduced to the American public can show such a continued and extended sale. In 1868 Messrs. Wm. R. Cole & Co., predecessors of the present firm of Brigham, Hopkins & Co., commenced to produce these goods for the general trade, and it is to their efforts that much of the widespread popularity of the Mackinaw is due. They first tried these hats with their own local trade, and finding them eminently successful, ventured to offer them in New York, meeting with much encouragement. From a small commencement their trade in these goods continued to increase until a large and well established business was secured, continuing to grow in volume and extent, and becoming the precursor of an industry that places Baltimore in a leading position as a manufacturing place for straw goods.