Fig 31.Fig 32.Fig 33.Fig 34.Fig 35.Fig 36.
Fig 31.Fig 32.Fig 33.Fig 34.Fig 35.Fig 36.
Fig 31.
Fig 32.Fig 33.Fig 34.
Fig 35.Fig 36.
On page11we have some types of African head-dress, Figs.31, 32 and 34showing what the natives of that dark continent have done for themselves in the way of head adornment, entirely unaided by fashion or the knowledge of what their brothers in other parts of the world were wearing. Fig.33, though of Asiatic origin and finer workmanship, is quite as grotesque in design as anything the wild tribes of Africa could devise.
At one time the Turks had a law by which none but themselves could wear turbans of rich texture. Their Greek subjects were condemned to wear dark cotton caps as a mark of their servitude. Armenians were compelled to appear in ridiculous-looking balloon-shaped caps, while the Jews were only permitted to wear brimless caps resembling inverted flower-pots. Later on, the Sultan issued a decree that all of his subjects should wear a red fez instead of their turbans. This law was received with the most determined and indignant opposition. So obnoxious to their feelings was this change, that the discontented party set fire to the houses of all those who favored it, and though finally the Sultan’s wishes passed into a law, it was years before many of his subjects became reconciled to it. Fig.40shows a turban worn by one of the Sultans; Fig.41, the fez of the people. Figs.37, 38, 42 and 43on the same page are samples of Russian hats. In some parts of that country the head-covering of the people is made of birch bark and plaited grasses; but fur is the material most commonly used. The prevailing male head-dress of the inhabitants of Asia Minor appears to be the Phrygian bonnet, of which the characteristic features with them are its point on top, bent forward, and its long flaps descending on the shoulders. This style of hat was worn for many centuries, and traveled as far west as Venice, where the Doge always wore one.