Set of Five 19th Century French Leather Miner's Hats

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They weren’t collected with any grand plan, just instinct. Each time we traveled through France to source for the business, … Read more They weren’t collected with any grand plan, just instinct. Each time we traveled through France to source for the business, one would appear. Tucked into a market stall, hanging quietly on a stone wall, waiting. Over six or seven years, they found us.

These 19th-century French miner’s hats are nothing more and nothing less than thick leather molded into pure function. No ornament. No flourish. Just sturdy, sculpted form designed to withstand the threat of falling rocks deep underground. Time has burnished the surfaces to a deep, tobacco patina. The creases and abrasions are all earned.

Seen as a group, they become unexpectedly architectural; domed silhouettes with a quiet, almost monastic presence. It’s art blooming from artless necessity, the kind of object modern designers try (and rarely manage) to replicate.

We’ve held onto them long enough. Great objects aren’t meant to be stored away, they deserve space, light, and someone who understands that true beauty often begins underground. See less