MERCURY - WHEN WAS IT LAST USED?

[mayserwegener]

I know there were similar issues in Europe* regarding the use of mercury.

Also some of the information stated in this thread is highly questionable but I will leave it at that.

*I have documents that mention union actions (early 20th Century) against Johann Hückel´s Söhne
(largest hat factory in central Europe) regarding use of mercury and it's negative health impact on the worker.

 

[HatsEnough]

Women also used to actually ingest arsenic, too. It gave their skin a wonderful white pallor... 'course it was killing them, too, but, hey, it's for fashion, ya know?

 

[Shangas]

There's lots of examples of stuff like this through history. Some have already been mentioned here.

Along with mercury in hats and arsenic for beauty and radium for watch-dials...

- People used to make white paint with lead oxide.
- Girls used to make matches with white phosphorus (which gave them a delightful medical condition called 'Phossy Jaw' where essentially, the bottom half of your face and jaw drops off).
- Mercury was also used in the extraction of gold (fortunately, the folks who purified & extracted gold figured out ways to prevent mercury-poisoning).
- Lead was used in making crystal. I believe that prolonged consumption of the contents of lead-crystal alcohol decanters did cause lead-poisoning.

There's all kinds of examples of practices that we're glad we don't do today!

 

[The Wolf]

It's funny that in science class years ago the teacher let you handle mercury in your hand to see how it would stay together in a liquid lump but now if a thermometer is broken in a hospital it is considered hazmat.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Shangas]

I remember when I was in school, which still wasn't that long ago, we had mercury AND alcohol thermometers.

Our Year 7 science teacher gave us all mercury thermometers to use, because, as he joked, "If I'd given you all alcohol thermometers, you'd be breaking them open to drink the booze!"

 

[AtomicEraTom]

My Mercury was last used to drive me home from work.

Sorry, I couldn't resist....

 

[Jaguar66]

Elemental mercury in liquid form, has low toxicity. The major toxicity from elemental mercury is from inhaling vapors of heated elemental mercury. So touching it, and even ingesting it was low on the toxicity scale.

Mercury compounds are highly toxic, as mercury ions are easily absorbed into the body. Here is a good article on mercury.


http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mercury/docs/MercuryRTCFinal2013345.pdf

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I know I've mentioned this somewhere on another thread but having lost my mom to Alzheimers this topic is of special interest to me. The description in one of the earlier posts of the "Danbury Shakes" sounds a lot like dementia -- which, no doubt, it was a form of. Mercury is also used as a preservative in vaccines. My mom was 81 when she died but when she was in her 60s she, like many people her age, started to get flu shots. Getting her flu shots every year was practically a ritual. A few times she even tried to make me get one, which I refused to do. I suspect that fifteen to twenty years of mercury accumulating in her system has had to have some sort of adverse effect, perhaps even triggering Alzheimers.

 

[DJH]

It's funny that in science class years ago the teacher let you handle mercury in your hand to see how it would stay together in a liquid lump but now if a thermometer is broken in a hospital it is considered hazmat.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

Yep, we did the same. It was fun breaking a big drop of mercury into little ones and chasing them around the dish.

 

[danofarlington]

Mercury is indispensable when taking the temperature of a hat.

 

[Apollo]

I think that a lot of hats from that time period were made with Mercury . You can see the difference in the color on later hats . I have some velour hats that have Mercury in them and they are jet black . The last factory to use it was Tonack as they didn't have the same restrictions as we did here in the USA .




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

Do you mean tonak, I can’t find a fedora name tonack?
Thanks

 

[belfastboy]

Do you mean tonak, I can’t find a fedora name tonack?
Thanks

it is Tonak, a Czech felt manufacturer that has been in business for a very long time. There is a great photo spread of their factory somewhere here in the Lounge.

 

[Apollo]

What about it the new selentino, I am eyeing the selentino.

 

[belfastboy]

What about it the new selentino, I am eyeing the selentino.

I have never owned or seen one but it is a mass produced hat selling at about the same price as a custom.

 

[Apollo]

Is a 150 a good price, how much do customs run again for?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Is a 150 a good price, how much do customs run again for?

Modern Selentinos come in a range of qualities and I suspect they always have. I’ve owned probably 15 Sterlings (don’t ask ), several Queens, The King, a Prince or two…some of the felt was quite nice, particularly the special finishes such as velour and melusine. The hats overall didn’t do much for me. The blocking, the dimensions/proportions, and the combined look just isn’t to my liking. YMMV.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I was thinking about the sterling model, i like the center crease crown on it. I not really a fan of the super squeeze pinch, it reminds me of an inspector gadget. I want it to look like the hat James Cagney wore in public enemy.

Several years back, the Burlington Coat Factory came into hundreds or perhaps thousands of those Selentino Sterling fedoras. They came in some vivid shocking colors as well as the more standard colors. I was not overly impressed with the hats at any level. They sold very cheap…:$25 seems close. The crowns are low and tapered, the brims are a narrow 2 3/8 inches, and the build wasn’t nice as you might want. I’ve bought a few used Selentino hats too: decent felt but the style and construction was lacking.

Cagney’s hat had a small brim, but the crown is tall and straight. A very 1920s or ‘30s look. You can’t get there with any Selentino that I’ve seen.

 

[belfastboy]

That’s interesting because when I heck the specs for the Serling model. It says the crown is 5” and brim 2 1/4.

where would you recommend me to achieve a hat like this? Pictures below
View attachment 344034 View attachment 344035 View attachment 344036

To what exactly do they refer when they say 5" crown? A 5" open crown is on the mediium/short side while a 5" bashed crown is on the medium/high side.

 

[suitedcboy]

A very simple center dent might use only 1/2" of height but many bashes with more features will use 1 inch and more. 5 1/8 bashed would be a very tall hat.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

That’s interesting because when I heck the specs for the Serling model. It says the crown is 5” and brim 2 1/4.

where would you recommend me to achieve a hat like this? Pictures below
View attachment 344034 View attachment 344035 View attachment 344036

I don’t recommend Watson’s Hat Shop: too expensive for me.

it’s rare that you can find a off-the-shelf hat that exactly matches a vintage hat. The Selentino is blocked all wrong to get close to the Cagney hat. The Sterling has a low and tapered crown: maybe 5 inches open, but 4- 4.5” as creased. At a glance the Sterling screams modern hat. It just doesn’t have the shape of a vintage hat and the work required to get it closer would be a poor investment.