Hat

Object/Artifact

Saco Museum

Name/Title

Hat

Entry/Object ID

1997.3.1B

Description

Blue velvet cloche hat lined with orange and gold plaid silk taffeta. The front is embellished with a manufactured appliqué. The appliqué conforms to the shape of the hat descending to the sides and having a rounded upper edge and a scalloped lower one, the latter edged in gold wrapped cording. The same cording forms four small circles, one oval, and two teardrop -shaped pieces. On either side of the gold “teardrops” are longer and shorter versions of the same shape executed in a blue silk cord which also wraps around the center oval. The upper section is decorated with the dark blue cording in a vermicelli pattern and is separated from the lower section by the gold-wrapped cording. The dense ground of the lower section is worked in a bright blue thread in stitches reminiscent of tambour or crochet work. The bright blue corresponds to the blue velvet of the dress worn as part of the wedding ensemble.

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1928

Dimensions

Height

7 in

Width

9 in

Material

silk velvet, Silk, metallic thread

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

Dorothy Bethena Wilcox was born on November 6, 1906 in Lyman, Maine. Her father Walter worked in the logging business and the family moved to Biddeford by 1910. Two years after Dorothy married John Percy Tarbox at the First Parish Church in Saco the family was living on Pine Point Road in Scarborough and John was a chef in a shore dinner house. John eventually moved into the canning industry and by 1950 the family was living in Gouldsboro, Maine. At some point the family moved back to Saco. John Tarbox died on December 20, 1995 and Dorothy died two years later on January 19, 1997. They are both buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.