MERCURY - WHEN WAS IT LAST USED?

[Visigoth]

I'm wondering when mercury felts became illegal. Were all Borsalinos from the thirties, for instance, treated with mercury?

 

[besdor]

I think that a lot of hats from that time period were made with Mercury . You can see the difference in the color on later hats . I have some velour hats that have Mercury in them and they are jet black . The last factory to use it was Tonack as they didn't have the same restrictions as we did here in the USA .




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Visigoth]

How, apart from color, would I tell? What qualities does mercury bring to the felt?

 

[besdor]

Apart from the color , I'm not sure . But it was bad stuff, made the workers very sick , hence the term "mad as a hatter" .


Steven

 

[Mulceber]

yep, the fumes supposedly ate holes the size of quarters in their brains. The world's definitely better off without the mercury treatment. -Mulceber

 

[J.B.]

The Felt Lady's webpage about making beaver hats in the early days gives us...

"Carroting -- The soaking of pelts in a solution of mercuric oxide to make the fur come off the pelts easier. This was called carroting because it gave the fibers an orange tint.

"The Old 'Mad Hatter' -- The mercury from carroting was what caused 'Mad Hatters.' This was actually heavy metal poisoning from mercury. The mercury attacked the nervous system of those involved in the felting and fulling of the hats. The mercury was airborne in the steam coming off the felt.

"The felting begins. The male feltmaker took the hat blank to an area where a kettle or caldron was filled with the hot fulling solution.

"Fulling Solution ingredients -- Solutions were usually very acidic and used things like wine wastes and uric acid. The only kettles able to hold the up to the acid solutions were lead. Back to the 'Mad Hatter' -- Another source of heavy metal poisoning which leads to madness."

:eusa_doh:

 

[J.B.]

http://unisci.com/stories/20022/0625026.htm

"Danbury [Connecticut] was known as the hat making capital of the world in the 19th century. During the industry boom of the 1880s, over five million hats a year were produced there in 56 different factories.

"The state of Connecticut outlawed the use of mercury in hat making in the early 1940s. But there are signs that mercury remains in soil and river sediment not far from where factories once stood."

By 1960, Mallory was one of the last of the great hat factories to leave Danbury, having combined with other companies.

http://www.seagrant.uconn.edu/HATTER.HTML

"Mercury poisoning attacks the nervous system, causing drooling, hair loss, uncontrollable muscle twitching, a lurching gait, and difficulties in talking and thinking clearly. Stumbling about in a confused state with slurred speech and trembling hands, affected hatters were sometimes mistaken for drunks. The ailment became known as 'The Danbury Shakes.' In very severe cases, they experienced hallucinations.

"'Mad as a hatter' became a common term for someone experiencing severe mental problems. Some hatters eventually died of mercury poisoning. In 1934, following intense objections from hatters labor unions, a major scientific study was performed and documented mercury poisoning in hatters. Processes to mat felt that did not include mercury were developed, and by 1943 all use of mercury in hatmaking ceased."

 

[Strider]

I wonder why hatters protested the scientific study? If it did those things to hatters, what did it do to the hat wearer?

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Yeah, really. Could residual mercury leach out of a vintage hat if it got wet for instance and poison the wearer?
Also, maybe the action that the mercury had upon the pelts, that is removing the fur, also happened to some hat wearers over time? Hence the belief of some that wearing a hat can make one go bald?

 

[Matt Deckard]

You know... Mercury might just be able to leak out of the vintage hats.... though if the world hasn't seen the effects yet, I don't you have much about to worry.

I'm sure hatters protested the study as it could influence the public against wearing hats.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Would make a good subject for a history major's master thesis.

 

[feltfan]

I wonder why hatters protested the scientific study? If it did those things to hatters, what did it do to the hat wearer?

Probably not much. The mercury in your vintage hat
almost certainly evaporated a very long time ago.
Mercury evaporates pretty readily.
In addition, your skin doesn't come in contact with the
felt of your hat... or shouldn't.

The mercury in hats appears to pose a danger much like
the radium watch dials of the period. Not enough radiation
to hurt the wearer, but tragedy for the women who
painted the dials and licked their brushes.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Nasty Stuff...

....a danger much like
the radium watch dials of the period. Not enough radiation
to hurt the wearer, but tragedy for the women who
painted the dials and licked their brushes.

fftopic:
The major locale for this was a business not far from where I grew up In Athens, GA. called the luminous processes plant. The plant had long since gone belly up, but when a mall was constructed right across the highway, the land became valuable, they had to cart off some insane # of tons of soil (Superfund site) simply to make it a viable business location again
... now it is a McDonalds

 

[Pilgrim]

I wonder why hatters protested the scientific study? If it did those things to hatters, what did it do to the hat wearer?

The answer to the first is probably the usual - people tend to resist change, and are often nervous about what it will mean for them. Unions are notoriously resistant to changing systems they have put in place. And at that time, we didn't know nearly as much about the possible health efects of chemical exposure as we do today. I think equivalent concerns would be tkane much more seriously today.

As for the second question, I don't know. My suspicion is that the amount of mercury remaining in such a hat would not be enough to endanger the wearer, especially since the primary point of contact with skin is a leather sweatband.

 

[Serial Hero]

Yeah, really. Could residual mercury leach out of a vintage hat if it got wet for instance and poison the wearer?
Also, maybe the action that the mercury had upon the pelts, that is removing the fur, also happened to some hat wearers over time? Hence the belief of some that wearing a hat can make one go bald?

I’ve heard that one of the possible symptoms of mercury poisoning from old hats is a desire, by the wearer, to dress in vintage cloths and a need to collect items from the golden era. They also possess a desire to congregate with others who exhibit similar symptoms, especially near bodies of water or on old ocean going vessels.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I’ve heard that one of the possible symptoms of mercury poisoning from old hats is a desire, by the wearer, to dress in vintage cloths and a need to collect items from the golden era. They also possess a desire to congregate with others who exhibit similar symptoms, especially near bodies of water or on old ocean going vessels.

Of course! You're right! I have the same symptoms. That explains my madness!

 

[Fedora]

One reason the hatters did not want mercury removed was its superiour ability to produce fine felt, even out of rabbit fur. The Hat Union on the other hand was instrumental in getting it banned here in the States. Nowadays, we have the technology to use it safely. The constant exposure to the mercury gas was the culprit in the hat factories. As the hats were being made, steam was used, and this leeched the mercury out in the form of a gas. They breathed it, all day long. By the time the hat left the factory, you would have found more mercury in a tuna sandwich. And, few of us actually eat our hats.

What is interesting to me is how the ladies used to use mercury nitrate on their eye lashes. Why? Well, the mercurial nitrate did the same to their lashes as it did to the fur. It puffed it up, making the eyelashes look fuller, thicker.

From what I understand, mercury felt is the best that was ever made. The hydrogen peroxide that was used to replace mercury could never give the same results, and the hatters knew it. Hence part of the resistance.


At one time in the history hatmaking, you could take rabbit fur and make outstanding felt hats, due to the mercury. The fur felted tighter, the finish was ungodly soft(the so called mercury finish) and it was economical to use rabbit over beaver which did not require the mercury to get a tight felting. But mercury beaver felt was really something special. It allowed hat producers to move away from the scarce beaver fur(costly) while still providing a hat that shared the characteristics of beaver hats. It is no wonder the traditional, old school hatters resisted getting rid of it, but no wonder the workers pushed for it to happen. Fedora

 

[DJH]

Hmm, I was going to post a question about possible changes in felt quality when mercury was banned. This thread suggests that the quality was no longer as good.

I'm sure there are Loungers with similar hats from either side of the change, do you see any major differences in the felts?

 

[gtdean48]

Could very well explain why the older Borsalino felt is so vastly superior to newer version.... That bunny felt is incredible....

 

[DJH]

I was wondering the same thing after reading your post from earlier this evening.
Also, since Borsalino seems to be credited with maintaining quality longer than the US manufacturers, I wonder if the use of mercury was permitted later in Europe than here in the US?