Coal King Miner’s Cap

This miner’s cap was made during the early 20th century by the T.R. Jones Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The cap is a Coal King brand of hat that the T.R. Jones Company produced. The hat is made of reinforced leather, with a thick leather brim, and a thick leather and metal lamp bracket on the front of the hat. The lamp bracket received patent number 1,490,831 on April 15, 1924. The bracket could hold either an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp. Originally, mining caps were worn to serve simply as a lamp holder. As miner safety became more of a concern hats began to take on the additional role of providing protection, as evidenced by the inner suspension and reinforced leather of this hat.

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