British Army
Napoleonic Era
Full Dress Cocked Hat Bicorn

divisor line

BRITISH
ARMY NAPOLEONIC ERA

GENERAL’S FULL DRESS COCKED HAT

Britis

 

Presented is an English cocked hat or bicorne
of the high quality beaver felt and gold bullion trim. Considering its age, it is in very good condition because it must
have been worn regularly and was passed down in time without the protection afforded by a carrying case. 
The hat has a ribbed band of gold
embroidery along its upper edges and a band of wider gold bullion with a domed gold button at the bottom.
There is no cockade. The interior of the hat features a brown hat band and brown silk liner imprinted with
Christys – London. No size is given , but the hat’s circumfrence is 21″ and it is 
18″ L x 8 1/4″ W x 9 1/4″

The British Royal Army Museum informs us that it is of the rank of a general officer.

THE BICORN or COCKED HAT were derived
from the 18th Century three corner covers that were called “Tricorne” by the French.  Later, one corner
was eliminated and the two remaining ends became more pointed. The front brim was called the cock and the rear was called
the fan. The right side, frequently had an insignia known as a cockade. In England they were known as cocked hats and in France
as bicorne.

Originally,
the points were worn from shoulder to  shoulder as with this hat until the end of the Napoleonic Era, and later they
were worn front to back.  The band in this hat and the label show that this hat was intended to be worn with the ends
going slightly offset from shoulder to shoulder.

The
bicorne was widely worn until just before WW II as part of the full dress of officers of most of the world’s navies, but
after the War its use diminished, except when used in formal diplomatic dress. 

Bottom of bicorn hat image
Inside liner showing maker as Christy-London image
   The bottom and the inside liner of the
hat showing Christy-London as the maker 

CONDITION: The hat shows  wear marks along the lower edge with more
on the right side showing that it was frequently carried while walking. There are also some wear marks on the top right
and the lower left rear. The head liner is in very good condition.

THE MAKER: Christys
& Co Ltd in England has operations dating back to 1773, starting with King George III. Christys’ is the
only company in the world still making high quality top hats and bowlers in the traditional way, using hatting skills established
over 200 years ago and keeping a valuable British industry very much alive.

The
Christys London® brand was established by Miller Christy in 1773 who, following his apprenticeship to a hatter in Edinburgh,
created his own company which was to grow over several generations.  Miller Christy set up his first partnership with
fellow Quaker, Joseph Storrs at No.5 Whitehart Court, London. This was where the first Christys’ hat shop was opened,
moving later to Gracechurch Street which remained the London address of the business until 1954. The main hatworks however
was in Bermondsey until partnerships with Stockport manufacturers took place in 1824.  S
tockport in Cheshire was a hub of hat-making in England in the 1700s and 1800s, with 53 hatting
firms there by 1864, including Christys. Stockport Museum is home to ‘The Christy Collection’, testimony to the
influence the company had in this proud hatting town. The Christy Papers include a 500 page booklet detailing its trade marks
registered around the world at the height of the British Empire.

At
its height, the Stockport factory alone employed 3,000 local people and was always managed by direct descendants of the company’s
founder. By 1843 Christy s’ was the largest hat and cap making factory in the world. Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother
visited the Stockport factory in 1963 having commissioned Christy’s to make miniature hats for Queen Elizabeth II’s
dolls house many years earlier.

Front of British Army bicorn image
Back of British Army bicorn image

     Both sides of the British Army Napoleonic Era bicorn 

British officer wearing other bicorn imageBritish officer wearing bicron image
Two British Napoleonic Era officers wearing
different styles of bicorn hats  
Showing wear at top of bicorn image

Showing wear at rim of bicorn image

                               Showing wear at the peak of the hat and along
the lower rim        
         
STANDARD FLAT RATE SHIPPING,
INSURANCE
& PACKING to 48 contiguous
States,
$40.00
divisor line
Shipping & Packaging

The cost of shipping, packing, handling, and insurance to your destination, will be calculated point to point and is an additional charge. You may email us to get these costs. We price our shipping honestly, but we expect to be reimbursed for the nominal cost of packaging materials and handling.

Our Unconditional 'No Nonsense' Guarantee

If not completely satisfied with your purchase it may be returned, if without damage, within three days of receipt in its original packaging. Return items must be insured for their full value. Only a prior email authorization by us for the return is required. Shipping charges are refundable if due to our error within the continental United States.

International buyers welcome, but inquire first. We have satisfied customers worldwide.

Standard Forms of Payment

Bank wire transfer, cashier’s check, money order, or personal check in which case the item will be held until cleared. Our prices are quoted net to us so that the use of credit cards or PayPal incur extra charges. Terms on overseas sales are different.

Established in 2003

Celebrating 18 Years of Exellence in Nautical Antiques

Join Our Mailing List


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Land and Sea Collection. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact