Miners’ working headgears

In the 19th century, miners worked in clothes that were a continuation of earlier clothing. The clothes used for work were usually part of the miner’s private wardrobe.Exceptions were selected groups of workers, for whom two-piece, drill clothing was purchased. However, headgear continued to be basic. Hoods were replaced by hats. In the 19th century, hats were used as headgear, initially they were without a brim, thickened at the top with several layers of felt, which was a stiff material and provided some form of protection. They show headgears in the form of hats with a small brim or a peak. Unfortunately, not many of them have been preserved. Objects of this type are therefore valuable source material. However, the problem of miners’ protective clothing, which would actually protect miners during their work, was only solved in the 20th century. Leather helmets had already been used in Germany since the end of the 19th century. In Wieliczka, they were introduced during the German occupation and were used until the 1970s. Their successors from the second half of the 1970s were plastic helmets. They were initially made of Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic material, invented in the early 20th century.