Bonnet with Locks of Hair

This large bonnet has five rows of frill, a wide screen and a soft, balloon-like, ruffled hood with neck ruffle, or bavolet. A ribbon from the outer fabric, tied in a bow, covers the attachment seam. The wide tie bands are gathered beneath the chin and hold the very wide screen in form. Beneath the hat there are real locks of hair connected with a velvet ribbon. This corresponded to the “corkscrew curl” hairstyle popular around in the 1830s. The curls and hat were gifted to the museum in 1885.