Mad Hatters, Johnny Depp, and Alice in Wonderland

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

MAD HATTERS, JOHNNY DEPP, AND ALICE IN WONDERLAND

     Some people refer to me as the “mad hatter,” since I am identified by the hats I wear. I am also considered, by many of my “friends,” as being “crazy.”

     So be it.

     Then again, I am not the only “mad hatter.” Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter in the March 5, 2010, release of the 3-D film, Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton. Depp said his Hatter’s springy mass of tangerine hair is a particularly important detail because of one of the suspected origins of the term “mad as a hatter:” mercury, used in the manufacture of felt and felt hats, can be absorbed through the skin, causing both physical and brain damage. The mercury use in 1865, when Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was published, had an orange tint.

     Mercury is a cumulative poison. Its physical symptoms include kidney damage, loosening of teeth, loss of coordination, slurred speech and trembling—known in early America as “hatter’s shakes”. The mental symptoms, labeled “mad hatter syndrome,” include irritability, loss of memory, depression, anxiety, and other personality changes,*

     Popular hats in Europe and America, such as the top hat, were made from felt. Three varieties of felt were used for hat making. wool felt, fur felt and beaver felt. Top quality hats used beaver fur—which has serrated edges that make the fur tough. This feature is necessary in making beaver felt hats, which date back as far as the 14th Century.

     In the early-mid 1600s, the beaver’s European breeding grounds became exhausted, and North America became the main supplier of skins to the trade. Beaver felt remained the preferred felt during the 1700s.

     However, the scarcity and cost of beaver meant that other furs, such as rabbit, were substituted for beaver fur. Less expensive hats also were manufactured by mixing beaver fur with wool or rabbit fur.

     Rabbit fur and other softer furs needed to be roughened by brushing a mercury compound solution (usually mercurous nitrate) on the fibers that were shaved off the skin. This made the fibers thicken and harden, able to mat more easily. This process was called “carroting,” since it made the fur turn orange.

     The resultant product was steamed into the hat shape and ironed. Throughout the process the hatters worked in poorly ventilated workshops, breathing in the mercury compounds, which accumulated in their bodies.
     In 1780, Danbury, Connecticut’s surrounding marshes provided the town with such a plentiful beaver population that a small factory began producing beaver hats. This industry lasted almost 200 years, giving Danbury its claim to fame: “The Hat City.”

     On June 6, 1885, at 4:00 p.m., an explosion occurred at Beckerlee & Co., a hat manufacturer in Danbury. It totally destroyed the factory, seven dwellings and the Beckerlee hose house. This most destructive fire in Danbury’s history had a loss of at least one life and $150,000.

     The fire spread rapidly, becoming a mass of flames in less than fifteen minutes. A nearby hat factory, L. H. Johnson & Co., which caught fire three times, was saved by its employees. Beckerlee’s five hundred employees were now out of work. **

     The Merrimac Hat Factory, Plant #1, in Amesbury, Massachusetts, was part of the largest hat mills in the nation. The parent company employed over 2100 persons in seven plants in the United States and Canada. This largest manufacturer of trimmed hats and hat bodies operated between 1856 and 1971. Plant #1 is now houses Hatters Point Condominiums, and the town has a Hat Museum.

     The Hat industry met its demise due to a decreased demand for hats. Danbury’s hat industry disappeared in the 1980s. The Merrimac Hat Factory operated between 1856 and 1971.

     I doubt that the hat that Depp wears in Alice in Wonderland is made of beaver pelts. And I doubt that many women could be sold on matching his day-glo green eyes and white eyelashes. But they might be sold on wearing hats.

     Could hats be making a comeback? I recently saw two obituaries in the local newspaper. The women were both wearing hats.

     And a number of women have said they would work up the courage to join me in the hat brigade.

     Perhaps hat manufacturing will contribute to the comeback industries in this recession. Let’s hope so.

     Or not…I like the fact that wearing a hat separates me apart from others. Please let me know if you are going to join me in the hat brigade, or if you are going to let me remain unique. Use the comment box below to cast your vote.

~~~~~~

SOURCES:

*http://www.electro-tech-online.com/chit-chat/18087-mercury-reason-using-hat-making.html

http://www.electro-tech-online.com/chit-chat/18087-mercury-reason-using-hat-making.html

http://www.thehatsite.com/felt.html

**The New Haven Evening Register, New Haven, CT 7 Jun 1885

~~~~~~ 

ADDITIONAL READING:

Hats Make a Statement

Honus Wagner & Me

Preparing for a First Date with Carmena

Dog Fighting & Cock Fighting: Cultural Phenomenon?

King Solomon and the Case of Two Mothers

A Chilean’s Thoughts on the Chilean Earthquake

Good News: Miracle Substance Repairs Teeth

Honey went home—She’s romping in animal heaven

A Daily Online Lenten Study Guide: Introduction