Civil War Period Gentleman’s Smoking Cap

Civil War Period Gentleman’s Smoking Cap – Tobacco carried a range of social, regional, and racial connotations in mid-19^th century America; different preferred forms of consumption of tobacco were exemplified by chewing tobacco and smoking cigars and pipes. Tobacco use was deeply ingrained in the Civil War soldier’s experience, providing both practical and psychological benefits in countering the toll taken by the horrors of war. During the Civil War, tobacco played a significant role in the daily lives of soldiers, both Union and Confederate. It was more than just a commodity—it was a source of comfort, a morale booster, and even a form of currency in the encampments. Many soldiers, already accustomed to tobacco use before the war, turned to smoking or chewing as a way to cope with the rigors of military life. Whether in the form of pipe tobacco, cigars, or chewing tobacco, it became an indispensable part of their routine.

Some soldier smokers brought with them, during their service in the army, a smoking cap or, as often called at the time, a lounging cap. These caps were popular as informal gentlemen’s wear, in the privacy of their homes, from the late 1840s to the 1880s. The caps were originally worn to keep the head warm in drafty rooms, but continued to be in style even after improvements in heating eliminated their necessity; the caps were also worn to prevent a smoker’s hair from smelling of tobacco smoke; additionally, the use of smoking caps arose from the social mores of the time, dictating not smoking in front of women and not smelling of smoke when one returned to their presence.

Antebellum and Civil War period smoking caps were soft and shaped like a squat cylinder or close fitting like a knit cap, and usually heavily embroidered and occasionally adorned with a tassel on top. Typically fashioned of wool, silk or velvet, they were frequently brightly colored and ornate. Designs were influenced by the Orient, especially from the Near and Middle East and by Turkish or Russian styles. In the period, smoking caps were often the perfect gift for a young lady to give to male partners or relatives; in fact, many of the ladies’ fashion publications of the nineteenth century devoted pages to fancy designs for at home fashions for the refined Victorian gentleman which included smoking caps. Tassels were available for sale for those ladies who didn’t want to make them.

This Civil War period smoking cap is constructed of a dark blue velvet and features extensive and elaborate, decorative, botanical motif embroidery, encircling the cylindrical part of the cap and appearing on the crown, as well. The exterior of the cap and the embroidery remain in excellent condition; the interior of the cap is lined in a burgundy silk, which is all there, but in somewhat tattered condition likely resulting from extensive wear. We will supply some acid-free tissue paper to the buyer, to support the cap for display purposes. These early, war period smoking caps are rather difficult to find now.