Are these mostly small stands for a single hat?

No. Half of all titles carry the word coat, and 26 carry hall, so the bulk of the category is full-size hall furniture standing on the floor. The small pieces do exist as a distinct group: milliners' blocks, wig stands, and brass or wooden shop stands made to carry one hat.

What is bentwood and why is it so common?

Bentwood is beech steamed and bent into curves. It made a tall multi-hook stand cheap enough for wide use from the later 19th century. On Sellingantiques it accounts for 51 of 164 titles, more than oak, mahogany and brass combined. Dates on these cluster between about 1890 and 1930.

Which woods and materials turn up?

Beech leads by a distance, then oak, mahogany and brass. Cast iron, chrome, antler and horn appear in smaller numbers. Yew shows up once, on a pair of wig stands given as English circa 1730, and nowhere else in the evidence.

How old are the earliest pieces?

The dated field runs from 1800 to 1940. The oldest object cited by any title is that pair of yew wig stands at circa 1730. A Chinese Canton enamel hat stand given as circa 1800, Qing dynasty, is the earliest dated piece in the samples and the only Chinese enamel one recorded.

Do unusual or novelty forms appear?

They do, in a small naturalistic strand: eleven-point antler, stag's horn hall stands, cow horn stick stands, a Black Forest chamois goat's head and an owl with glass eyes. The oddest single form recorded is a late 19th-century French ebonised stand made as three crossed halberds. Faux bamboo appears on French folding stands and nowhere else.

How often do these come up for sale?

Around nine a year are listed on Sellingantiques, so it is a thin category by volume. Spread across it are 69 different dealers, which tells you most handle one and move on rather than stocking them steadily.

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Antique Hat Stands

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Most pieces under this heading are hall furniture: floor-standing hat and coat stands, hall stands and wall racks made to hold hats, coats, sticks and umbrellas by the front door.