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RARE CONFEDERATE OFFICERS SLOUCH HAT WORN

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:12,500.00 USD Estimated At:25,000.00 - 40,000.00 USD
RARE CONFEDERATE OFFICERS SLOUCH HAT WORN
BY CAPTAIN CUTHBERT H. SLOCOMB OF THE WASHINGTON ARTILLERY. Some of the rarest pieces of head gear to survive the Civil War were slouch hats. Of the slouch hats known to survive, only a tiny fraction were worn by Confederate officers. Captain Slocomb's New Orleans made slouch hat is one of the finest examples known to exist. The hat is black fur felt of very fine quality. The crown of the hat measures 5 1/4" high and 5" across when measured from side to side. The hat has been folded in a fore and aft manner forming front and back creases that are 3" tall. The 3 1/2" wide brim is bound with black silk ribbon with 2 rows of stitching. A 5/16" wide black silk ribbon encompasses the base of the crown. The ribbon has 2 knots, 1 tied in the rear and 1 in the left side. The hat's light brown leather sweatband is 2 5/8" wide with a very lightly tooled grid pattern. There is a sm. printed paper label glued to the rear of the sweatband giving the size "7 1/8". The hat has a badly deteriorated blue silk liner that at one time read, "WARRANTED / ARMY HAT / PATENTED...1863 / D'ARCY / NEW ORLEANS". Only portions of the liner remain. UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: vintage photographs of the exterior and interior of the hat, and an authentication letter from Les Jensen. CONDITION: this rare hat generally shows light wear throughout with 1 noticeable moth nip in the crown. The silk ribbon edge binding shows nearly no wear. The crown ribbon is intact with no losses. The leather sweatband is undamaged and remains pliable with tight stitching. The silk liner has deteriorated badly and exists mostly in pieces. Fortunately, part of the word "WARRANTED" and nearly all of the word "ORLEANS" can still be discerned. The hat comes with some older photographs clearly showing the "D'ARCY" name as well as other printing on the silk liner of the crown. A rare opportunity to acquire possibly the most sought after of all Civil War headgear, the Confederate slouch hat. PROVENANCE: Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Chicago, IL, to legendary collector George Markham in 1957 to the esteemed collection of Don and Judy Polifka in 1987. (02-13427/BF). $25,000-40,000.