Merry Widow Hats were all the rage in the early 1900s.

A Merry Widow Hat, for those unfamiliar with turn-of-the-century fashion, was an oversized hat popularized not by cheerful widows, but by actress Lily Elsie in the 1907 operetta The Merry Widow. These extravagant hats—often nearly two feet wide—were typically made of straw and lavishly adorned with feathers, French lace, or other decorative accessories.

Though stylish, in at least one case, they also proved dangerous. Just ask Joseph Lewis, a local farmer in Bloomington, Illinois. In October 1908, he got an unexpected close-up of one such hat when he rounded a corner in a rush to catch a train and collided with the massive brim. As an article reported, the corner of the hat “pierced Lewis’ eye, inflicting an injury which speedily cost him the vision.” Doctors feared the farmer might lose sight in his other eye “through sympathy.”

As for the woman with the gigantic headgear, “she kept on her way ignorant of the unfortunate mishap which befell Lewis.” Evidently, she too was in quite a hurry.

In the image below, printed in The Minneapolis Journal on May 3, 1908, it’s clear that others saw Merry Widow Hats as a menace—one that could create even more widows.

As seen on the front page of The Minneapolis Journal, May 3, 1908.

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