Hymack’s straw hat with colour changing band

Hymack was a successful quick change artist who used many surprising effects in his act. When he retired in the 1920s Lewis Davenport bought at least some of his effects. One item included in the sale was this hat on which the colour of the hat band could instantaneously change from black, through green, to red. The mechanism is complex and was restored by Harry Carson in 1984/5. He wrote up the challenges in an amusing and informative article in ‘The Magic Circular’ of October 1985.