USMC Philippine Insurrection/Boxer Rebellion Field Hat

[Dirk]

A Marine attributed Philippine/Boxer Rebellion Field hat is back from the conservators. The biggest thing for this restoration my restorer did, was to stabilize the hat so it can be displayed and handled. Her first step is always to rehydrate the “felt” of the hat….allowing it to be better handled and prevent further disintegratation. Next she used dye pens and small matching color patches to fit inside the crown of the hat to improve the aesthetic of the piece. She also protected the leather sweat band (it’s somewhat brittle) with a wide strip of conservation net to contain the damage and catch any loose pieces that might flake off of the sweatband. Ideally, she would like to line the crown with the right kind of millinery felt and shape it on a head block using steam  - which is how the hat was originally made. She noted that will be a more expensive and time consuming process, so deferred for another time. Note the EGA is the correct version for this period. Lastly, everything she did is reversible.

[warguy]

Wow Dirk that turned out great! Preserved for many future generations. 

[Dirk]

Thanks Kevin!!

[abqpropguy]

Amazing!!!! Thank you Dirk for sharing. One day I hope to find one!!! 😃

[Brig]

Nice, non-damaging restoration...getting harder to find people who do it right

[SgtMaddoxUSMC]

Restoration (or preservation) came out great!  I want to wear it!