American (c. 1880-1910)
Art Nouveau Hatpin
Woman with Roses
sterling silver, metal
10 1/8” long x ⅞” wide
Notes: This American Art Nouveau hatpin is strikingly long at 10 1/8” in length it exceeds the average length of 6-8” by over 2-4”.
During the late 1890s and 1900s a scourge of unscrupulous characters, including the so-called ‘Mashers’, partially spurned out of the panics of suffragette autonomy, targeted and harassed women in public. A solution was put forth by utilizing this fashionable accessory to stand up to the perpetrators – what better deterent than the long spear already carried around in one’s hat. Thus, the Hatpin Panic was born. Insecure men across the country rallied to have hatpins banned lest they take stock of each others actions and a series of ordinances were born banning hatpins longer than 9” and requiring all hatpins to have protective tips. This was no localized affair but an International uprising – “Ten thousand miles away, in Sydney, Australia, sixty women went to jail rather than pay fines for wearing ‘murderous weapons’ in their hats … The furor over hatpins subsided at the onset of World War I, and died entirely when bobbed hair and cloche hats came into fashion—at which point emerged a new “social menace”: the flapper.”[mfn]Smithsonian Magazine. ‘The Hatpin Peril’ 2014.04.24 (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hatpin-peril-terrorized-men-who-couldnt-handle-20th-century-woman-180951219/)[/mfn]
Markings: impressed ‘STERLING FRONT’ underside
Condition: Very Good
For Accuracy: an antique it may show expected light signs of age. The embossing is clean and crisp with fine effect. The pin is secure to the decorative portion and retains its integrity.
