Vintage 1930s Simon Arzt Port Said Polo Pith Helmet Solar Toupee Bombay Bowler

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Vintage 1930s Simon Arzt Port Said Polo Pith Helmet Solar Toupee Bombay Bowler:
$118.12

A good example of a 1930s civilian / colonial / imperial pith helmet.
The exterior is weather marked but intact. The leather top strap and chin strap are in good condition with some minor creasing and small nicks. Internally the leather headband shows some signs of normal wear but is in good supple condition. The green and red fabric linings and the red leather crown lining are in very good condition. All the pleating and stitching is good.
The leather headband is marked \"Simon Arzt Store Port Said Egypt\". The red leather crown lining is stamped \"Special Polo Helmet\" and the Simon Arzt Stores Logo \"SAS\".Simon Arzt Store was positioned on the Port Said waterfront close to the northern entrance of the Suez Canal and had an iconic status in the early 20th century for travellers between Europe and the Orient. It sold anything and everything and remained open 24/7 so long as there was a ship anchored in Port Said harbour.
There is worn price / size label on the headband but it is unreadable. I have measured the hat with hat sizing tape and believe it to be a 6 7/8 or 55 cm. This would be classed as medium or small/medium today. I have found a reference online to a price of 25 shillings for a similar hat at Simon Arzt\'s in 1930. This would be the equivalent of £70 today.
The initials \"C H\" aretagged on to the headband.
the leather top strap has been worn for sometime in at least 2 different buckle positions. I am not sure why this would be. Perhaps the owner wore a hackle, feathers, a crest, colours or a favour of some kind on the side of the hat, though this was not a common practice amongst British civilians.
Inside the leather head band someone has stuffed a cutting from the Christian Science Monitor, perhaps to absorb sweat or to make the hat more comfortable. The cutting is undated but it contains a reference to a diplomatic posting in the USA which have managed to pin date to between 1931 and 1933. This dating by association is consistent with when the Simon Arzt Store was in it\'s pomp and when this style of hat was popular.
I have found references in travellers accounts of civilian men and women on British Empire colonial postings going ashore at Port Said on the outward journey to buy their \"tropical gear\" from Simon Arzt. Port Said was regarded as the start of the tropics. There was apparently a tradition at the end of a posting on the homeward bound journey of throwing one\'s pith helmet into the Mediterranean as the ship left Port Said to signal the happy return to more temperate climes. Fortunately thisparticular hat made it back to Blighty.
The association between polo helmets and pith helmets started in the late 19th century. An Army order was issued that men playing polo must wear a helmet and this style of pith helmet (with a flat top and wide squarish front brim) became standard polo wear.The style also became a popular amongst civilians for general wear and is very similar to a style known as a Bombay Bowler.
An good vintage helmet which is evocative of Britain\'s imperial past.Thanks for looking please check out my other items of Indian or colonial interest including some carved Indian bone balls, a hand-painted Indian screen and an Anglo-Indian folding campaign table. ..
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Search terms ; British Empire, The Raj, India