Hatters' Banner, painted by William Capen Jr., Portland, Maine, 1841. Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.
Hatters' Banner, painted by William Capen Jr., Portland, Maine, 1841. Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.
In 1841, men working as hatters carried this banner in a Portland, Maine parade. Hatters at the time created many stylish beaver fur hats. The banner plays on hat bands and crowns in its wording.
This banner was carried in parades by members of the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association and associates its message with the temperance movement’s effort to eliminate alcoholic drinking. Mechanics (skilled artisans) embraced temperance as a means to respectability and to prove they were pillars of the community.