(no subject)
My big birthday present is a pair of new hats - a felt fedora which, despite the fact that I ordered Pecan is exactly the same colour as the brown hat I already have (which means I probably ordered Pecan last time too, actually) and a very exciting straw hat. The straw hat is actually made of palm leaves from Guatemala, and is made in Texas.
This is exciting on a number of levels. First, it's a gorgeous hat that I can wear in the summer, yay. Second, though, it's made of palm leaves - the importation of palm leaves from warmer climes to New England was a critical stage in the development of industry in the United States. Bales of palm leaves were brought into central locations - usually a general store - and farm wives could come and buy a bale, weave it into hats, and then come back and sell the hats to the store (the store would ship the hats south - palm hats were widely distributed in the Southern states, and worn by slaves and masters.) The farm wife got the difference between the cost of the bale and the sale price of the hats. This was a critical example of the "putting out" system. So, I now have a hat that can double as a lecture aid!
This is exciting on a number of levels. First, it's a gorgeous hat that I can wear in the summer, yay. Second, though, it's made of palm leaves - the importation of palm leaves from warmer climes to New England was a critical stage in the development of industry in the United States. Bales of palm leaves were brought into central locations - usually a general store - and farm wives could come and buy a bale, weave it into hats, and then come back and sell the hats to the store (the store would ship the hats south - palm hats were widely distributed in the Southern states, and worn by slaves and masters.) The farm wife got the difference between the cost of the bale and the sale price of the hats. This was a critical example of the "putting out" system. So, I now have a hat that can double as a lecture aid!