Mining Lights and Hats - Helmets
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| Miners wearing safety hats and Edison lamps preparing to enter mine. Harwick, PA, 1953. |
Prior to the 1920s, miners wore a soft cap made of cloth or canvas with a leather brim and lamp bracket to hold their light. But in 1919, Edward D. Bullard of San Francisco, California developed the first hard hat, basing it on the Doughboy helmet he wore as a soldier in World War I. The helmet was made of canvas, glue, and black paint, and given the trademarked name “Hard Boiled” because of the steam used in the manufacturing process. Promotional materials touted the hat’s strength; saying that a 20 pound weight dropped from a height of two feet did not break the cap, and a one pound bolt dropped forty feet did not dent the cap. The helmet could carry a regulation bracket for a carbide lamp, and could be ordered in any size. Edward W. Bullard continued to improve his father’s safety hat, patenting several inventions in 1928 including an adjustable lining to the interior of the hat, and an insulated lamp bracket.
The Mine Safety Appliances (MSA) Company was founded in 1914 in response to the mounting danger found in mines. The company’s first step was to work with Thomas Edison to develop a battery-powered lamp to avoid igniting firedamp in mines. MSA went on to produce a variety of safety devices, including breathing apparatus, gas masks, ventilation fans, and helmets. The first safety helmet that MSA manufactured was the trademarked Skullgard Bakelite helmet designed by Jack Lewis in 1930. In 1935 MSA registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap and continues to produce the Skullgard and Como-Cap into the 21st century. Both MSA-manufactured helmets are represented in the mining collection in the Division of Work and Industry.
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| Rescue Team with Edison Cap Lamps & MSA Breathing Apparatus. Jenkins, Kentucky, 1926. |
Carbide lamps were still used with hard protective helmets, but helmets that used electric lamps would have a cord holder to keep the cord out of the miner’s way. A form of this helmet and electric lamp combination is still worn today, with improvements in the area of battery life and weight, a change to tungsten and LED bulbs, and breakaway or segmented cords to allow the miner to be less inhibited by the battery pack.
"Mining Lights and Hats - Helmets" showing 20 items.
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Flexo Band Cool Cap Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This Flexo Band Cool Cap miner’s cap was distributed by the Portable Lamp & Equipment Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The cap is made of reinforced leather with a dome comprised of upstanding ribs allowing for protection and ventilation. A leather and metal lamp bracket is attached to the front of the cap. The bracket could have held an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8181C
- accession number
- 239148
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8181C
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Comfo-Cap Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8181B
- accession number
- 239148
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8181B
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Coal King Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This miner’s cap was made during the early 20th century by the T.R. Jones Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The cap is a Coal King brand of hat that the T.R. Jones Company produced. The hat is made of reinforced leather, with a thick leather brim, and a thick leather and metal lamp bracket on the front of the hat. The lamp bracket received patent number 1,490,831 on April 15, 1924. The bracket could hold either an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp. Originally, mining caps were worn to serve simply as a lamp holder. As miner safety became more of a concern hats began to take on the additional role of providing protection, as evidenced by the inner suspension and reinforced leather of this hat.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-7914A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-7914A
- accession number
- 233577
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Comfo-Cap Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8097A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8097A
- accession number
- 240639
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Comfo-Cap Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8097B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8097B
- accession number
- 240639
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Comfo-Cap Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8097C
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8097C
- accession number
- 240639
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Flexo Band Cool Cap Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This is a Flexo Band Cool Cap. The Flexo Band Cool Cap was patented by Albert A. Strauss around 1933. The cap is made of reinforced leather with a dome comprised of upstanding ribs allowing for protection and ventilation. The Flexo Band Cool Cap was often colloquially referred to as a "turtle shell" helmet, due to its distinctive style. The Flexo Band Cool Cap was distributed by a few different companies during the 20th century, including the MSA Company and the Portable Lamp and Equipment Company. The leather and metal lamp bracket is attached to the front of the cap. The bracket could have held an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8181D
- accession number
- 239148
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8181D
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic miner’s helmet would have been in use during the first half of the 20th century, after 1915. The helmet has a lamp bracket attached to the front which would have likely held an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8924
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8924
- accession number
- 260125
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic miner’s helmet would have been in use during the first half of the 20th century, after 1915. The helmet has a leather and metal lamp bracket attached to the front which would have likely held an oil-wick lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9235B
- accession number
- 268055
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9235B
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Miner’s Electric Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This electric cap lamp was made by the Concordia Electric Co. The lamp was powered by a battery enclosed in a self-locking steel case worn on the miner’s belt. A flexible cord, protected by a steel spring where it comes out of the battery, connected the battery to the cap lamp. This lamp is marked as permissible by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and has an added cord for plugging into an electric outlet. This picture show the lamp attached to the miner’s cap.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MT-2683 [dup1]
- accession number
- 115674
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-2683
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center