Mining Lights and Hats -- Soft Caps
Soft Caps
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| Soft Cap with Carbide Lamp, ca. early 20th century |
From 1850 until around 1915, miner’s headgear generally consisted of cloth or canvas hats with leather brims and lamp brackets on the forehead that allowed them to hang a source of light on the front of their cap. Caps served the ancillary use of protecting the miner’s eyes from smoke or soot and their head from dust and small bumps, but its main use was as a mount for their lamps.
These soft mining caps had leather or metal brackets that served as mounts for the miner’s lamp. These soft caps were used for three generations of mining lamps, with oil-wick lamps, carbide lamps, and battery-powered electric lamps. Brackets were often sold separately, so the miner could keep a hat and buy a new bracket to accommodate a new lamp.
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- The miner’s cap is made of canvas with a metal and cardboard lamp bracket attached to the front. The lamp bracket likely would have held an oil-wick cap lamp. The small paper label attached to the bracket reads MINING AND / 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-8783
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8783
- accession number
- 265669
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas mining cap has a red plastic brim with a metal and cardboard lamp bracket. There is a handwritten inscription on the top of the hat that reads: Harrisburg, Pa. / January 17, 1939 / Inaguration oF / Aurthur H. James. Underneath that inscription is a variety of handwritten names: John / Ethel / Frank / Tessie / Francess / Emily. The sides of the cap have the words “JAMES/LUZERNE COUNTY” in large printed letters. A red and white sticker on the lamp bracket reads “JOHN / GAVENONIS / 127 / PIERCE ST. / PLY. PA.” The signatures on this mining cap speak to the personal connections miner’s had with their cap. A miner chose their headgear, and took it with them to work where it was worn all day and used for decades.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9405
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9405
- accession number
- 271417
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap has a leather brim, with a leather and metal lamp bracket attached to the front. The lamp bracket could have held either an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp. The leather part of the bracket is stamped with the text “PATENTED LAMPHOLDER/”DOUBLE SAFETY”/GUARDS FOREHEAD.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8218
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8218
- accession number
- 241803
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap was made by the T.R. Jones Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania during the early 20th century. The cap has a leather brim with a jagged design on the sides. A metal and cardboard lamp bracket sits on the front of the cap, and likely would have held either an oil-wick or carbide lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9793
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9793
- accession number
- 304880
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap was manufactured by Thomas Lloyd & Sons of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania. The cap has a leather brim with a leather and metal lamp bracket. The bracket likely held either a carbide lamp or an oil-wick cap lamp. Before head protection became mandatory in industrial workplaces, miner’s caps served as a way to mount their lamps.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9576A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9576A
- accession number
- 282791
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap was manufactured by Thomas Lloyd & Sons of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania. The cap has a leather brim with a leather and metal lamp bracket. The bracket likely held either a carbide lamp or an oil-wick cap lamp. Before head protection became mandatory in industrial workplaces, miner’s caps served as a way to mount their lamps.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9576B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9576B
- accession number
- 282791
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner's Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap has a leather brim, with a leather and metal lamp bracket attached to the front. The lamp bracket could have held either an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp. Two blue stripes encircle the cap. Canvas caps provided minor protection from bumps, but mainly allowed the miner to hang a lamp from the cap, insuring a portable light source close to the work.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-7730
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-7730
- accession number
- 234625
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap and Carbide Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This miner’s hat is made of canvas, with a leather brim and metal lamp bracket attached to the front of the cap. A miner’s carbide lamp is mounted onto the bracket. This type of hat and lamp would have been used together from around 1900 until the 1930s. Carbide lamps consisted of two chambers, an upper chamber holding water and a lower chamber holding calcium carbide. Acetylene gas is produced when water from the lamp's upper level encounters the calcium carbide stored in the base via a dripping mechanism. The gas is funneled to the burner, where it is lit by a match or a built-in striker. Miner safety became a big issue during the early 20th century, when mining accidents hit an all-time high. Congress established the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1910 to improve miner safety, and miner’s hats began to turn to helmets, and electric lamps replaced the open flame of carbide and oil-wick lamps.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8146
- accession number
- 239148
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap has a leather lamp bracket secured to its front with six metal nails. Two union buttons attached to right side. A Lehigh Navigation Coal Company label is attached to the front of the cap. The larger button with the American Flag and numbers "11" and "1928" in center reads: "UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA / WORKERS UNION". The smaller button of red, white, and blue reads: "THRIFT ARMY / LIEUTENANT / CARBON CO. / SCHOOLS." The label has writing from the donor that reads “My first mine cap. / before safety helmet / with Working uniform button / to be worn to so[sic] that / member paid dues / that month.” The hat was owned by John Miller who lived on 160 West Church Avenue in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- associated date
- 1928
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9457
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9457
- accession number
- 277980
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap and Carbide Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This cotton miner’s cap has a leather brim with a leather lamp bracket holding a carbide lamp. A small union pin that reads “United Mine Works of America @ 1934, Working Button” is attached to the side of the cap. Before head protection became mandatory in industrial workplaces, miner’s caps served as a way to mount their lamps.
- The union pin on this mining cap speaks to the personal connections miner’s had with their cap. A miner chose their headgear, and took it with them to work where it was worn all day and used for decades. It wasn’t uncommon for miner’s to personalize their helmet with stickers or their caps with pins.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9526A
- accession number
- 277982
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9526A
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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