Davy Crockett hat and Badge

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

20906

Title

Davy Crockett hat and Badge

Description

Synthetic fur hat with racoon tail and a metal silver badge pinned to the front that says 'Davy Crockett'.

Artist / maker

Berwick Toys

Date

1955

Size

19.05cm

Type

Toy

Location

Museum of Childhood

Accession number

MC78.92

A cap is a hat fashioned from the skin and fur of a raccoon. The original cap consisted of the entire skin of the raccoon including its head and tail. Davy Crockett the show was a Walt Disney production that was aired in the Uk in 1956.
The first three "Davy Crockett" episodes starring Fess Parker as Davy Crocket the frontier hero was portrayed wearing a cap. The show spawned several Disneyland Davy Crockett sequels as well as other similar shows and movies, with many of them featuring Parker as the lead actor. Parker went on to star in a Daniel Boone television series (1964-1970), again wearing a similar cap.
The cap and badge shown here is a synthetic copy of the hat for children to dress up in. The look of the cap that was marketed to young boys was typically simplified; it was usually a faux fur lined skull cap with a raccoon tail attached. A variation was marketed to young girls as the Polly Crockett hat. It was similar in style to the boys' cap, including the long tail, but was made of all-white fur (faux or possibly rabbit). At the peak of the fad, raccoon caps sold at a rate of 5,000 caps a day. By the end of the 1950s, Crockett's popularity waned and the fad slowly died out.

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Crafts > Costumes and Textiles > Dressing up outfits

Crafts > Costumes and Textiles > Hats

Sport and leisure > Activities > Toys

Toys > Dress Up clothing and toys > Badges

Toys > Dress Up clothing and toys > Hats