Relicts from the days of 'hatpin peril'

Q: I am attaching pictures of what I have been told are hatpins. They belonged to my wife's great-grandmother. I would appreciate any information you are able to provide.

A: There is a debate in this country about gun control, but a little more than a century ago, there was a debate in certain American communities about the ubiquitous hatpin being a dangerous weapon that needed to be banned. Women of the day used the pointy devices to keep their elaborate millinery creations from being dislodged, either in a bustling crowd or in a high wind.

But this was also the age of the "masher," or spiffily dressed man who tried to force his "attentions" on unwilling women who were unknown to them. The term originated in the 1875-1885 period. The response to the advances of a masher was either to hit him with a purse or umbrella, or stick a wickedly long hatpin into him as far as it could go.

Hatpins were also used to scratch the face, and the use of the devices was sometimes characterized as the "hatpin peril." A 1904 edition of the San Francisco Call and Post featured illustrations showing how a woman might defend herself from the unwanted attentions of an unsavory man.

The era of the hatpin was roughly between 1875 and about 1920, when women's hairstyles became too short to use the devices. Hats of the period could be large and rather elaborate, embellished with everything from stuffed birds to entire flower gardens with ribbons and buckles thrown in for good measure.

Sometime a chapeau required as many as six hatpins to keep it anchored to her head, but one or two were more usual. Hatpins came in a variety of sizes, anywhere from 6 to 12 inches long. Shorter pins (usually with far less elaborate heads) were used for corsages, stick pins and lapel pins and should not be confused with actual hatpins.

Hatpins can be found in the shape of golf clubs, bulldogs, flags, shields, buttons, Art Nouveau women, flowers, lions, birds, insects (bees, ladybugs and spiders), cameos and myriad other shapes and varieties.

Celluloid is really nitrocellulose, and it acquired the name "celluloid" in 1870. It is also known as "ivorene," "synthetic ivory" and "French ivory." Some hatpins had gold or sterling silver heads and real gems — even diamonds — in their design, but hatpins meant for everyday use by women of modest means were more likely to have heads made from brass, glass or molded celluloid.

Your two hatpins are interesting, and they are early 20th century, but monetarily they are only worth $25 to $40 at retail for the pair.

Q: What can you tell me about this vase? It is 15½ inches tall and 5 inches across the base. It appears to be made from several layers of glass: clear, ruby then white. The design seems to be perfectly symmetrical and appears to have been made by cutting or grinding through the outer layer of white glass, but there are no grinding marks visible. There are no chips and all the edges are sharp and crisp.

A: Once upon a time, this was probably one of a pair of vases that comprised a garniture set used to decorate a Victorian mantel. Its mate has vanished into the lost and found of history, but this one with its superb craftsmanship remains a thing of beauty.

This vase began its life in central Europe in a place that is now part of the modern Czech Republic. Then, the region was called "Bohemia," and it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is now the far western part of the Czech Republic.

Cut overlay pieces such as this one came in a variety of color schemes. White on top of clear is very common, as is blue over clear, white over green, cranberry over clear, white over cranberry and on and on. Rare color combinations such as pink and white over yellow can be found. But unless the color combination is aesthetically pleasing (and the cutting well done), the value is not greatly enhanced.

Your piece started out as a "gather" (or "blob," if you prefer) of clear glass on the end of a glassblower's blow pipe. The gather was then coated with red (cranberry) glass and then with white glass. The blob was then inflated and laboriously shaped until it was the vase seen today.

It was then sent to the decorating department, where skilled workers created the notching around the top and cut through the layers of white and cranberry to create the graceful and symmetrical "windows" seen on the finished piece. The surface was then polished to remove any signs of the cutting process.

Tons of this glassware type is being made for tourists visiting Bohemia and other parts of Europe today. But the pieces tend to be smaller and rather less well done. Your example is a far larger than average specimen that would have been improved only by gilding and a more imaginative pattern to the cutting. Still, for retail purposes, the vase should be valued in the $500 to $650 range.

Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson have written a number of books on antiques.