Are straw top hats of civil war period or post cw?
Straw top hats have been around for decades prior to the Civil War, seeing their zenith in use in the 1830’s and 40’s, with a little use through the Civil War. You see some of them in the Mount and Gingham paintings, and some other sketches in the same era. I haven’t found many of them being worn after the Civil War era, as the top hat was considered a dressier hat for most occasions by then and they were made mostly of beaver and wool felt by then.
