Welcome to Hat Town: A Place to Hang Your Hat!

[Joe Riley]

Abraham Lincoln stored important documents in his top hat.​

Abraham Lincoln was America’s tallest president at 6 feet, 4 inches, and he chose a signature accessory that made him appear even more imposing: a large, silk stovepipe hat. The hat was also a practical choice, giving Lincoln ample storage space for important documents right on top of his head.

In a scene in Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln, Lincoln (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) speaks at a post office dedication, where he pulls his speech from his hat and returns it there when he’s finished speaking. Though the crowd laughs when the president says, dryly, “That’s my speech,” this isn’t just a Hollywood moment. Lincoln kept not only speeches in his hat, but also official government documents and personal letters. It is even said that he would dramatically throw papers from his hat in front of generals while making a point.

Lincoln himself confirmed this practice in writing, even blaming his hat for a delay in correspondence. In an 1850 letter to politician Richard S. Thomas, he wrote, “I am ashamed of not sooner answering your letter… my only apologies are, first, that I have been very busy in the U.S. court; and second, that when I received the letter I put it in my old hat, and buying a new one the next day, the old one was set aside, and so, the letter lost sight of for a time.”

 

[Joe Riley]

My Mother's Hats​

By Robert Hedin
She kept them high on the top shelf,
In boxes big as drums—

Bright, crescent-shaped boats
With little fishnets dangling down—

And wore them with her best dress
To teas, coffee parties, department stores.

What a lovely catch, my father used to say,
Watching her sail off into the afternoon waters.

Copyright Credit: Poem copyright ©2013 by Robert Hedin from his most recent book of poems, The Light Under the Door, Red Dragonfly Press, 2013. Poem reprinted by permission of Robert Hedin and the publisher.