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.
Page 1 of 2
Coal King Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This black Coal King brand miner’s helmet was made during the first half of the 20th century by the T.R. Jones Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The helmet is made of re-enforced leather, with a leather and metal lamp bracket in the front and a leather cord holder in the rear. The helmet’s cord holder keeps the cable out of the miner’s way, routing it behind the miner. The cord holder points to this helmet being used in conjunction with an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9575B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9575B
- accession number
- 282791
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bullard Hard Boiled Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Hard Boiled brand miner’s helmet was made by the E.D. Bullard Company of San Francisco, California after 1919. A leather and metal lamp bracket is mounted onto the front of the helmet that likely would have held a carbide lamp. Bullard was one of the first producers of protective hard hats, basing their original design off of the “doughboy” helmets worn by World War I soldiers. 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8782B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8782B
- accession number
- 265669
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Skullgard Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Skullgard helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliances Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The Skullgard brand helmet was developed by MSA in 1930. The hat is made of Bakelite plastic with a leather and metal lamp bracket is attached to the front of the helmet, which probably would have held an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MT-2681
- accession number
- 115672
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-2681
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bullard Hard Boiled Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Hard Boiled brand miner’s helmet was made by the E.D. Bullard Company of San Francisco, California after 1919. A leather and metal lamp bracket is mounted onto the front of the helmet that likely would have held an electric lamp. The rear of the helmet has a metal cord holder. Bullard was one of the first producers of protective hard hats, basing their original design off of the “doughboy” helmets worn by World War I soldiers. 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8782C
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8782C
- accession number
- 265669
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Coal King Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This black Coal King brand miner’s helmet was made during the first half of the 20th century by the T.R. Jones Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The helmet is made of re-enforced leather, with a leather and metal lamp bracket in the front and a leather cord holder in the rear. The helmet’s cord holder keeps the cable out of the miner’s way, routing it behind the miner. The cord holder points to this helmet being used in conjunction with an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9575A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9575A
- accession number
- 282791
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Bakelite miner’s helmet was made during the first half of the 20th century. He helmet has a t-shaped leather lamp bracket attached to the front. The bracket likely held either an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp. The interior of the helmet consists of a leather headband connected to eight suspension straps. There is a paper label on the helmet that reads "Gift of F.B. Davenport 90 / June 7 1951 / MINING & METALLURGY DEPT. / LAFAYETTE COLLEGE. Easton, PA." The National Museum of American History received many objects in its mining and metallurgy collection from Lafayette College.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-8782A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8782A
- accession number
- 265669
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Skullgard Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Skullgard helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliances Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The Skullgard brand helmet was developed by MSA in 1930. The hat is made of Bakelite plastic, with a metal lamp bracket protruding from the front that would have held an electric cap lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9713
- accession number
- 299568
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9713
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bullard Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Hard Boiled brand miner’s helmet was made by the E.D. Bullard Company of San Francisco, California after 1919. A leather and metal lamp bracket is mounted onto the front of the helmet that likely would have held a carbide lamp. Bullard was one of the first producers of protective hard hats, basing their original design off of the “doughboy” helmets worn by World War I soldiers. The helmet was made of canvas, glue, and black paint, and given the trademarked name “Hard Boiled” in because of the steam used in the manufacturing process to stiffen the leather.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9734
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9734
- accession number
- 299389
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Skullgard Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Skullgard helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliances Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The Skullgard brand helmet was developed by MSA in 1930. The hat is made of Bakelite plastic with a leather and metal lamp bracket is attached to the front of the helmet, which probably would have held an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MT-2681 [dup1]
- accession number
- 115672
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-2681
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
MSA Skullgard Miner’s Helmet
- Description (Brief)
- This Skullgard helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliances Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The Skullgard brand helmet was developed by MSA in 1930. The hat is made of Bakelite plastic with a leather and metal lamp bracket is attached to the front of the helmet, which probably would have held an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MT-2681 [dup2]
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-2681
- accession number
- 115672
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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