Part 3
_Sixth_—A fair man has the privilege of what is called “_turns upon tramp_,” that is, if he cannot obtain work in the town where he resides, or has an inclination to _travel_, he may journey or _tramp_ to the next; should any of the _fraternity_ be there, and he wishes to get “_shopped_” he is “_asked for_” by one in that factory, (no man being allowed to ask for himself), if unsuccessful, there are two night’s lodging for him, two pots of strong beer, bread and cheese, and a shilling or two to forward him to the next town. The _money turn_ in London is five shillings, but no man is entitled to a _second_ turn in one place, until after the expiration of six months from his receiving the first.
_Seventh_—If a journeyman has, by his own act, become _foul_, nothing can absolve him but submitting to a _fine_, and this is measured according to the offence, which, in some _heinous_ cases, such as “_creeping_” into favour with the master, or going to work when all the rest have struck for wages, is as high as ten guineas.
There are three distinct courts for the examination and punishment of offenders. The _first_, or High Court of CONGRESS, is a sort of general assembly, composed of either Makers or Finishers, just as their separate interests may be concerned; but on all joint questions these parties form a _junction_. In this court matters of importance only are discussed; as, for instance, the _advance of prices_, the abrogation of old laws, and the making of new ones, under the _operation_ of which, it sometimes happens that both men and masters, as well as the law of the land, are alike the victims. The _fines_ levied in this court are appropriated to special and “STRIKING” purposes, often tending to produce a “COMBINATION” of interesting effects. The masters too are not wholly exempt from these pretty little combinations, which, however, do not always realize or carry their intended _point_; this is owing (it is thought) to the vast affection journeymen bear towards their employers; indeed so much so, that they cannot bear the _latter_ should “LOWER” themselves.
There is a court below this, which is formed by taking one or two men from the seven _nearest_ shops. Their sitting, if not _public_, is sure to be in a _public-house_, president, _Sir John Barleycorn_. The matters chiefly brought here are those that relate to the misconduct of journeymen towards each other in the same factory, and which cannot be settled where they originated. This is called “DOZENING,” and their power of FINE extends to two guineas, which is drank in good old stout by the whole seven shops; but as all _dry_ subjects are prohibited in this tribune, the extent of fine greatly depends on the state of the weather; so that if it be a sultry summer’s day, the punishment of an offender is in proportion to the _sun’s heat_.
The third and lowest _court_ is an assembly of shop-mates only, this meeting is called a “GARRET MATCH,” and may be demanded for the punishment of an aggressor, by any aggrieved man in a factory. Power of fine from two to ten shillings.
I have before stated that there are in this trade _foul_ men; in point of number they constitute about one-sixth part of the whole; but their earnings, or price of labour is the same as the fair trade.
A journeyman finisher in full work will earn, on an average, from three to four pounds a-week; while, on the contrary, a maker cannot get more than _fifty shillings_. This is a subject of much jealousy and discontent; nor is it likely to be otherwise, unless the latter can raise himself to an equality with the former; against this there are many obstacles, one of which is, the _increasing_ foul trade, who would continue working, even though the fair men had “_struck_.” Another is, that they could never obtain the co-operation of the finishers, who, being amply paid themselves, think it best to leave well alone.
These are the _principal regulations_ which govern journeymen hatters, whether they have a good or a bad tendency is questionable; there are many in the _trade_ who decidedly condemn them, giving as their reasons, that they encourage idleness, tippling, and endless squabbles. _Idleness_—inasmuch as when men are summoned to discuss the most trifling matters, even though the meeting be at five o’clock in the morning, they seldom feel _disposed_ to return to their work that day. _Tippling_—for the reason that, as _fines_ are mostly spent in _drink_, the conviction of a supposed offender is generally _thirsted_ after; but as the quantum levied seldom suffices, all further supplies for the remainder of the day are met by individual subscription. In these cases there is no show of niggardliness, as every succeeding gallon of the “_sparkling entire_,” is but an _internal_ messenger, bearing the glad tidings of another to come. _Squabbles_, because it is natural, when the _desire_ for a thing is once created, and the gratification of that desire (where nothing of criminality attaches) can be indulged, by having recourse to a little contrivance, that the opportunity of so doing should be more frequently _made_, than suffered to approach accidentally; which will account for the _trifling magnitudes_ that are allowed to agitate shops and factories in general. The arguments in _favour_ of these laws are, that without them, apprentices would be careless in serving out their _time_, the trade over-run with bad workmen, hats greatly deteriorated in the manufacture, the excellence of which is their chief recommendation in a foreign market, and the surest guarantee of the master’s profits at home.
Having given the _contending_ opinions, in reference to the laws of this trade, I shall say a word or two concerning the shape, and manner of placing a hat on the head.
ON THE
SHAPE AND STYLE
OF
WEARING A HAT.
THERE is no part of a man’s dress that _makes_ or _mars_ his appearance so much as his hat; not that it is its striking beauty when new, or a want of it when old, that is most materially concerned in producing either of the above effects; the grand point is the FORM, and the position which it is made to assume on the head; yet how few there are who give the least attention to either, except indeed military men, and they in general are uncommonly tasty, affording the best example of the precise style in which a hat should be worn. It is no less singular than true, that the same hat, by being placed on the head in different positions, will give, in _appearance_, as many distinct _characters_ to the _same person_ as the number of those positions amount to. The most striking are as follows:—_sullenness_—_indolence_—_gravity_, and _good humoured impudence_. To give the first, draw the brim of the hat so far over the eyes that they shall be quite concealed. The second is produced by the hat being thrown quite back. The third by a prim _horizontal_ set, covering equally all parts of the head; and the fourth will not be easily mistaken wherever an _extravagant cock_ on either side is brought full into view. These are undoubtedly all _extreme_ habits, and seldom pushed to the extent here described; yet a slight inclination to either position may, under circumstances, have a very good effect.
There is another bad custom that ought to be noticed, which I shall do by first observing, that a hat was intended solely to keep the head _dry_—ON which it should be worn; but many seem to differ from this opinion, using it as a sort of NIGHT-CAP wherein is thrust head, ears, and all. This is a most slovenly practice, as well as a dangerous one, inasmuch as it tends to keep the head in a continual and _forced_ state of perspiration, rendering a liability to “_take cold_,” every time the hat is removed. Yet even this habit is not so bad as sticking the hat on the _back_ of the head, which, of all others, is the most general, and carries with it the greatest impropriety, because such a position not only destroys the shape, but by lodging on the coat collar, the hind part, from _friction_, becomes greasy, and the binding is always in a state of raggedness; added to these disadvantages, a most ridiculous effect is produced by the practice, that is, the head in _appearance_ is converted into a sort of _peg_, AGAINST which the hat seems to _hang_, instead of being placed _upon_. A man who indulges in so bad a custom, should at least preserve a _consistency_ in his dress by walking “slip shoed,” breeches knees open, and without braces, stockings down, waistcoat unbuttoned, cravat half tied, one arm only in his coat sleeve, and at least a six months’ uncombed crop of hair about his pericranium; here he would be of a piece; and grotesque as such a figure must appear, by a general adoption of these “captivating negligencies,” there is no greater inconsistency in the whole catalogue than that of wearing a hat on the _back part_ of the head.
As to the _form_ of a hat, and what is best for _this face_ or _that person_, there is more in it than what is generally supposed, and a great deal might be said on the subject; but to talk of a _standard fashion_ is absurd in the extreme, in proof of which it need only be observed, that if very large hats were adopted, a thin man of five feet high, would, by the wearing, become as complete a caricature, as a twenty stone man of six feet would by wearing a very small one. The best fashion a man can follow in a hat is that which best becomes him, and various as heads, faces, and persons may be, all things are now accomplished (so far as a hat is concerned) that can either _fit_ the one or ornament the other,
By the Head’s sincere friend,
and well-wisher,
R. L.
_Furs used in a Hat of fine quality, according to the present improved system of making, their proportions, value, cost of manufacture, &c. &c._
FOR THE BODY.
s. d. per oz. s. d. 4 oz. of seasoned coney wool, 1 0 .. 4 0 ½ oz. red wool 2 4 .. 1 2 ¼ oz. of silk 0 9 .. 0 4½
FOR THE COVERING.
s. d. per oz. s. d. 1 oz. of prime seasoned beaver 8 6[4] .. 8 6 Journeyman’s wages for making[5] 3 6 Dyeing 0 8 Stiffening, finishing, and picking 1 8 Cost of lining, finding, band, and box 2 6 Sewing in of ditto 0 6 ————— £1 2 10½
Footnote 4:
No hat can be good, or well covered, with less than one ounce of prime beaver; and, small as the quantity is, there was a time when journeymen makers (catching the custom of their betters, and by way of tythe) thought it no sin to appropriate a part of this material to their _own use_; but, for the credit of the _trade_ be it said, the practice is long since abolished, and a man attempting it at the present day would be scouted from the factory where he worked, by every honest journeyman therein.
Footnote 5:
The average week’s work of a _maker_ is about ten hats; that of a _finisher_, from five to six dozen.
Such is the cost of materials and labour at the present period; it is true that the above scale is drawn from “credit prices;” but let every part of a manufacturing concern be carried on for money only, which is rarely the case, still the deduction from the _whole_ cannot be more than 7½ per cent. All substitutes for the above _materials_ are decidedly condemned; nor can their _quantities_, as here stated, be lessened, without injury to the remainder. Here then is sufficient evidence that a fine hat must, under the most favourable circumstances, stand the manufacturer in upwards of twenty-one shillings, yet many _assume_ a capability of _retailing_ such an article at less even than the charge of manufacture.
_A General List of_ Lloyd’s _Fashionable Hats, invented, manufactured, and sold by him, at his Warehouse, 92, Newgate-Street, London._
The John Bull │ The Bang-up The Wellington │ The Jolliffe The Tandem │ Clericus The Tally-Ho │ The Bon-Ton The Shallow │ The Baronet The Coburg │ The Four-in-Hand The Marquis │ A Bit of Blood The Eccentric │ The Baron The Regent │ A Noble Lord The Kent │ The New Dash The Cumberland │ A Paris Beau The Esquire │ The Brutus The Vis-a-Vis │ The Exquisite The Petersham │ The Irresistible The Tilbury │ The Pic Nic The Count │ The Viscount The Medium │ And the Dandy.
CONCLUSION.
If the foregoing treatise to be judged by the _letter_ and not the _spirit_—have mercy reader.
RULES FOR MEASURING A HAT.—Take the circumference on the _outside_, where the band is fixed, in inches. The breadth of brim and depth of crown as wanted.
_Entered at Stationer’s Hall._
● Transcriber’s Notes: ○ The original caption for the illustration of hat styles was almost illegible. It was replaced in the illustration by typed-in text in a similar typeface. ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was corrected. ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book. ○ Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_); text in bold by “equal” signs (=bold=).
End of Project Gutenberg's Lloyd's Treatise on Hats, by Robert Lloyd