Yale Crew Cap / Kepi c.1894

 

Cap worn by Arthur Walker Bingham, Yale ’96, as part of his rowing attire. Bingham rowed class crew as a sophomore and junior. These caps were marketed for "Yachting" or "Navy" (crew), available either with a flat top or “military shape” (based on the chasseur pattern kepi), with gold embroidered wreaths  and "gold embroidered names for boat clubs". This is the only example we have come across. Crew, as followers of this blog know is another of our key interests.

This cap is labelled E.S. Osborn, a dealer in hats and caps located at 91 Church Street in New Haven. It was the oldest hat dealer in the city, Osborn taking over from N.W. Mansfield in 1879.

Bingham later became a physician, and his first appointment was at Roosevelt Hospital in NYC (now Mount Sinai) in 1901. His Roosevelt Hospital Ambulance Surgeon cap/kepi c.1901 is also part of our collection (Jacob attended Mount Sinai Medical School).

Both caps were purchased when the Bingham estate was liquidated in 2017.