W. C. Fields Stage-Worn Top Hat....

Description

W. C. Fields Stage-Worn Top Hat. A light grey, felt stovepipe hat with wide black ribbon band, owned and worn by fields in the 1923 Broadway musical Poppy. The production turned him into a star, and for reasons perhaps both sentimental and superstitious, Fields insisted on wearing the hat in the 1936 film version, as well as Sally of the Sawdust (1925). Though the hat is more than 70 years old and shows some wear, it is largely intact despite having been stored for numerous years in the trunk of longtime love Carlotta Monti's 1938 Cadillac (a gift from Fields). The hat was made expressly for Fields with a durable structure that allowed for his acclaimed juggling and comedic mishandling. It is in overall Fine condition, and is accompanied a letter of provenance from Monti and a 1971 newspaper clipping showing her with the hat.

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