Willem Barents' 400 year old hat

[AEH]

The recent issue of the journal of the Norwegian National Library, NB21, has an article about the Svalbard museum, and one of the items from the museum pictured in this article is Willem Barents 400 year old felt hat! Willem Barents was the Dutch explorer who discovered Svalbard in 1597. He died later that same year in Novaja Semlja. In the late 1800s a Norwegian whaler found the cottage where Barents spent his last days. Because of the exceptionally dry and cold climate in this area, organic materials are preserved very well. The whaler found a few items that he brought back with him, and among these was this "green-black" felt hat.
For a 400 year old hat I suppose it is not in a bad shape, but they could have done a better job with the hatband replacement lol

 

[Garrett]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

 

[buler]

Gene could pull that one off!

B

 

[Garrett]

Gene could pull that one off!

B

Indeed he could. Alright, Gene, its official - you need to make them an offer

 

[CRH]

...
For a 400 year old hat I suppose it is not in a bad shape, but they could have done a better job with the hatband replacement lol

lol lol lol. It's holding the hat together lol lol lol.

That's the most stylish chunk of compost I have ever seen. I hope you didn't drop it .

 

[zetwal]

Send it to Optimo!

 

[handlebar bart]

The Indy nuts are going to go bonkers for the Indy hat missing link.

 

[ron521]

Wait a moment...the cottage where Barents died stood unoccupied by anyone else for over 200 years? And the Norwegian whaler assumes that in all that time, no one entered or left until HE came along and found the hat?

This seems like a logic meltdown to me.

 

[BigSleep]

What's the big deal? I got hats off of ebay that look a lot nicer than that. And they were not near 400 yrs old. I'd say it was a rip off if the guy hadnt gotten the hat for free. I think they should sen it to Optimo and see what they can do with it.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Nice lid from the '40's...

The 1540's...



Cheers,
JtL

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

400 years and still an open crown! That is a remarkable find and a fantastic piece of history. Proof that we're not crazy...I mean not completely crazy.

 

[thunderw21]

So...how much crown is too much crown?






Neat find.

Hope I'm that good looking in 400 years.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Gene could pull that one off!

B

lol lol lol lol

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Send it to Optimo!

*rimshot* lol

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

After some fancy ribbon work, the curator browsed the Lounge for crown bashing options and settled on the double teardrop.

 

[dhermann1]

If you've ever seen pictures of that era, you'll see that they wore their hats just like this. Similar to the hats the Puritans wore in the 1600's but with that goofy round shape. They must have had their reasons. This was the era when men wore white lace collars with their black doublets. The higher class the wearer, the fancier the lace.
Pretty cool to actually see one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Barentsz
There's a picture in this Wikipedia article of his death, where he's wearing what looks to be the very hat.

 

[Jabos]

I'll have to ask Art if he can make a copy of this hat for me (since I am the FL copy cat). Think it would go with a Hawaiian shirt?

 

[CRH]

I'll have to ask Art if he can make a copy of this hat for me (since I am the FL copy cat). Think it would go with a Hawaiian shirt?

Screw the shirt! Just cover your chest in beads and handle a cool surf board under your arm. You'll fit in well lol.

 

[jimmy the lid]

After some fancy ribbon work, the curator browsed the Lounge for crown bashing options and settled on the double teardrop.

lol lol lol lol lol

Heck -- with that much crown, you could probably pull off your giga-teardrop, Chuck!

Cheers,
JtL