Figure 1.-- Here we see a caninet card portrait with three unidentified brothers. They are wearing matching suits and are holding their bosaters. The boaters are all a little different. Notice that two worn by the younger boys are not flat on the top. The studio was Younge in Utica, New York. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1880s.

The classic boater is a hat with a medium width flat brim and flat crown. The hats could vary in weight and the white and fltmness of the brim. The top alsdo varied. Hats were quite varied in the 19th century. We see examples that essentially look like boaters, but with minor variations in the brim and crown. We see some whewre the crown was slightly rounded and the bims sligtly rurned. They are close enough to bosaters, however, thsat I think it is fair to classify them as such. In the 20th century the classic design was much more prevalent with flat tops and brims.

Created: 6:27 AM 4/8/2010
Last updated: 6:27 AM 4/8/2010