Romeo costume hat worn by Cab Calloway at the Miami Beach Cotton Club: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A purple boater hat from a costume worn by Cab Calloway at the Miami Beach Cotton Club for a Shakespearian Romeo and Juliet themed routine. The hat is constructed primarily from purple dyed straw. It has a flat top and a wide brim. The hat features a wide, gold, metallic hat band tied in a large flat bow around the proper left side of the crown. A bright yellow fragment of a feather is tucked into the bow. The crown is lined with light brown silk. A black circular stamp at the center of the crown features a shield device at the center with a profile of a squirrel and a lamp above. The shield is framed by pairs of laurel leaf branches on either side of the shield’s base. Black text printed above the shield reads [INCOMPARABLE EXCELLENCE]. Printed below the shield device is black text that reads [Cosmopolitan / NEW YORK]. The interior also features a leather hatband with another manufacturer’s stamp on the proper left side. The hat brim is edged in magenta.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1957
• Manufactured by: Cosmopolitan Hat Company, American
• Worn by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Subject of: Cotton Club, American, 1956 - 1958
• Type: hats
• Medium: straw with textile materials , ribbon , feather and leather
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 4 1/8 × 14 13/16 × 16 7/16 in. (10.4 × 37.6 × 41.7 cm)
• Place used: Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Object number: A2015.273.1.2.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.