Fore & Aft / Deerstalker?

[JRB]

Is the fore & aft the hat with the brim all the way around? If so, why is it called only fore & aft? Why not fore, aft, starboard and port?

From what I've seen, the brim on a fore and aft is all the way around. However, the fore and aft part of the brim is noticeably wider than the sides of the brim.

[Jock Scot]

From what I've seen, the brim on a fore and aft is all the way around. However, the fore and aft part of the brim is noticeably wider than the sides of the brim.

Yes you are quite correct, the side brim(over the ears)are about an inch wide, whilst the front(fore) and back(aft) stick out about two/three inches.

[ThistleDown]

Jock, so I don't interfere with your lesson here, perhaps you could copy a few pics into the thread. Maybe describe each as you have done and follow that with a photo. I think there's still confusion.

Ted, as a matter of interest, in the 19C the HBC imported Scottish bonnets for resale through their posts all over the Northwest. There's a part-case of these at the Fort Langley museum in British Columbia. They are simlar to (and probably the fore-runner of) the Balmoral commercially available today. It had a soft dark blue wool crown, a stiffened black ribbon head-band that was adjusted for size by tying at the back, and had a red toorie. The wool was thick and warm and almost rain-proof. The ribbon tying was simple: an eye-knot something like you would use for a necktie -- once around and then through the resulting loop.

Somewhere in the back of my mind there is an image of a new-made one by a current sporran-maker. I can't remember who, but it struck a bell at the time I saw it as being almost identical to those brought in by the HBC.