Hat
Periodcirca 1885 - 1890
MediumNetting, silk, wire, paper
Dimensions9 × 6 × 8 in. (22.9 × 15.2 × 20.3 cm)
InscribedThe hat includes an older paper tag with the 1970s inventory number 69. A small old adhesive label stuck to the inside of the crown bears a ballpoint pen inscription reading "5/8/69 - Gift of Mrs. D. F. Nichols."
SignedThe hat bears its original label reading "Esther Meyer / 6 Rue Royale / Paris."
ClassificationsAccessories, Women's
Credit LineGift of Mrs. D. F. Nichols, 1969
Object number1998.511
DescriptionA woman's hat with a shallow crown and haloed brim of stiffened off-white net over a wire frame, meant to sit well back on the wearer's head. The hat's entire inner brim is lavishly ornamented with elaborate pale and rose pink crysanthemums, puds and leaves. Off-white silk ribbon is attached to the inside of the hat as chin ties.Curatorial RemarksThis striking spring bonnet bears the label of milliner Esther Meyer. All but forgotten now, Esther Meyer was acknowledged as one of the finest Paris millinery firms in the fashion world for decades. Her shop was located for most of its existence on the rue Royale. One of the earliest mentions of Meyer appeared in the May 21, 1881 "Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner" newspaper, where an article noted "Mlle. Esther Meyer, rue Neuve St. Augustin, has recently been making some pretty bonnets." She was hailed as the "Parisian arbiter of fashion" by one publication in 1907. A 1909 article described Meyer as having "the patronage of many aristocratic French women, of the conservative type." Impressionist artist Auguste Renoir visited the shop a number of times for prop hats to keep in his studio. Meyer even had a color named for her, after her search for a rich, dark cardinal red for a straw and velvet creation resulted in a dye known at the time as "Esther Meyer red." By the early 1890s, Meyer's name was mentioned regularly in American newspapers from coast to coast, with department store advertisements featuring hats and bonnets by Esther Meyer. An 1895 Philadelphia Times article on spring fashions included the fact that "Esther Meyer, with her accustomed audaciousness, has introduced a novelty in the way of shirred taffeta silk." Meyer's name appeared over and over again among the top Parisian designers of the time period, including Worth, Paul Poiret, Virot, and Paquin. By 1923, the firm of Esther Meyer was run by Mme. Bozier, who was also the president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Mode of France. The firm continued until at least 1930. This particular bonnet, with its high crown and lavish use of paper flower ornamentation, is one of Esther Meyer's earlier creations, dating between about 1882 and 1885.
Collections
