Abraham Lincoln's Stovepipe Hat, Etc.

[Eva Elisabeth]

(12-05-2015 08:10 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 04:34 AM)maharba Wrote:  I can't think of anyone else wearing that bizarre hat. Was it to try and appear taller I wonder. Abraham Lincoln was 6 foot 3, but so was Washington and Jefferson, and I think Lyndon Johnson was 6 foot 5. I can't remember seeing any of them often even wearing a hat. Looking again through old clippings, his hat was given to preacher Phineas Gurley by Mary Todd Lincoln, and the Estate of Gurley had to sue to try to get it returned from a Lincoln collector.

AFAIK this was the fashion of those days, and most likely (my guess) you can't think of anyone else wearing it because most photos were portraits taken in studios where one wouldn't wear headwear. The President was sure an exception to also take outdoor photos of.

He used his hat as filing cabinet, thus the taller the hat the more storage room.

I once had a similar question but from a slightly different angle: why would someone who had zero interest in fashion would wear such an uncomfortable hat (while I've always understood Abraham Lincoln was ignorant of his appearance, i.e wouldn't have cared how becoming something was to him as long as it was comfortable, like his carpet slippers).

So why this hat? Meanwhile I learned a lot from the Victorian experts on this board, and my perception (the experts may correct this) is that 1.) it was inappropriate in general to show up in the street without any headwear, and 2.) that this kind of hat represented a gentleman's standing, and Abraham Lincoln was sure proud of his achievements. Despite I think there was not much choice and this the hat of the days.

And yes, I second Roger, he certainly liked that feeling and often asked others to measure up with him. Please see e.g. my last post here: http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...r#pid52646

Many thanks to Bill Binzel for shedding light on a probable reason for Abraham Lincoln's head gear choice:
     
Source: Richard Bak: "The Day Lincoln was Shot", p. 7.