Originally Posted By knoxvelour Speaking of the 10/6...does anyone know the meaning, if there is indeed one?
Originally Posted By knoxvelour is that expensive for that particular kind of hat? Would Minnie Pearl have some kind of copyright infringement thing going on with the price tag on the hat and all?
Originally Posted By trekkeruss No idea if that was expensive or not, but there were 20 shillings to a Pound, and 12 pence to a shilling.
Originally Posted By dsnykid If I remember correctly from my children's lit class in University - Hats from that era were made from beaver pelt and were treated with lead, can't remember why though, and the 10/6 is a reference to the lead content in the hat. It was the exposure to the lead in the hat that made the Mad Hatter, well, mad. The strange things they teach us in school....
Originally Posted By CrouchingTigger >>Hats from that era were made from beaver pelt and were treated with lead<< >>Not lead. Mercury.<< Mercury is what I heard. It was in the glue used for sizing the hats. The hatter would condition his brush by putting it in his mouth and chewing on it before starting, thereby ingesting the residue on the brush. At least, that's what I heard.
Originally Posted By dsnykid Thank you... I thought about it last night and remembered that it was indeed Mercury adn not Lead.... got a kick from where the discussion went to after that though
Originally Posted By Nobody "some astute observers have noted that the paper in the Mad Hatter's Hat was really an order to make a hat in the style shown, to cost ten shillings sixpence." Also... "The actual amount was significant also. Professional people (doctors, lawyers, architects etc) all charged fees, not in pounds but in guinneas. One guinnea was one pound plus one shilling. And while pounds were the currency of trade, guinneas were the currency of the professions. We used to have a gold coin called, and valued at a guinnea, and a smaller gold coin, a half guinnea, valued at ten and six (10/6). The pound, however was merely a paper note, as was the half-pound or ten shillings. So the hat worn by the Mad Hatter was priced at half-a-guinnea, signifying its superior style."
