Art
Around 1904, a fine hat was valuable enough to merit its own protective box. This leather-and-silk hatbox kept a woman's hat clean, shaped, and ready for the street. Hatboxes reveal how much care ordinary people invested in appearance and how shopping created new kinds of objects.
Art · Full story
You lift the lid and catch the ghost of perfume. Inside, tissue paper crackles under your fingers as you unwrap the hat—still holding its shape perfectly, the silk lining cool and smooth. This box has traveled with someone's most important outing: church, a visit downtown, maybe a wedding.
Reflect
What do you buy today that feels important enough to keep in its original box?