Vera Whistler hat and hat box with lid belonging to Etta Moten Barnett

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

This is a Vera Whistler hat and hatbox with accompanying lid. The hat (.1) is made of a light silky fabric in a cloche style with a rolled brim. The fabric has a large paisley pattern in dark blues and greens with pink accents against a yellow background. There are pink, yellow and dark blue beads sewed at intervals around the hat. On the inside of the hat is a white Vera Whistler label sewn to the inside of the sweatband. The hatbox (.2a) is a circular cardboard box with vertical stripes along its sides in alternating shades of cream. There is handwritten text in black ink that reads “BEADED CLOCHE” along the side. It has a cream-colored cord to fasten down the lid threaded into the body of the box to create a second loop as a carrying handle. The box lid (.2b) is a shallow circle in white with a cream edge.

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