This cap was used by the donor, H. Lincoln Harrison, during his career as a street railway conductor for the Middlesex & Boston Street Railway Company. Harrison bought the cap in 1926 and used it into the 1940s while conducting streetcars. The cap is part of a uniform which Harrison donated, including a coat.
The cap's shape became similar as well for street railway conductors, from the beginning of the traditional electric-trolley era in the1880s through to its end in the 1950s. The style of uniform for streetcar motormen and conductors derived directly from the practice on mainline railroads. Whether the transit-company employee was a motorman or conductor was shown by a metal cap badge of brass or nickel plated alloy. There was usually no other ornamentation, other than perhaps a string of braid around the front of the headband.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.