Black folding top hat signed LOCK & Co HATTERS

Vintage top hat folding with a black cup. The top hat is signed by “LOCK & Co, HATTERS, ST. JAMES ST., LONDON” Size 55. Lock & Co. is the oldest millinery in the world, the 34th oldest family business in the world and is the holder of a royal warrant. Their store has been located at 6 St James’s Street since 1765. The company was founded in 1676 by Robert Davis. His son Charles continued the business and took James Lock (1731–1806) as an apprentice in 1747. James later married Charles Davis’s only daughter, Mary. When Davis died in 1759, James Lock inherited the company from his former teacher. The Lock family and the descendants of James still own and run the company today. As an anecdote, the company is responsible for the origin of the bowler hat.