The twitterverse is alive with tweets about Justice Scalia’s headgear for today’s inauguration. At the risk of putting all the fun speculation to an end . . . The hat is a custom-made replica of the hat depicted in Holbein’s famous portrait of St. Thomas More. It was a gift from the St. Thomas More Society of Richmond, Virginia. We presented it to him in November 2010 as a memento of his participation in our 27th annual Red Mass and dinner.
[UPDATE: Many have asked for more details about Justice Scalia’s hat. It was made in Richmond, Virginia by milliner Camille Parham. Richmond lawyer and St. Thomas More Society executive committee member Stephen Reardon spearheaded our search for a “St. Thomas More hat” and presented the hat to Justice Scalia at the dinner after our Red Mass. A picture from the presentation and one from Justice Scalia’s visit earlier in the day to the University of Richmond School of Law are below.]
That’s awesome. I blogged the side-by-side comparisons here: http://joshblackman.com/blog/2013/01/21/scalia-the-originalist-his-skullcap-is-a-replica-of-the-one-sir-thomas-more-wore/
There is definitely a resemblance.
[…] University of Richmond LawProf Kevin Walsh writes: […]
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been looking at various images of the Sir Thomas More portrait; that was my first guess. But Scalia’s hat looks round, and surely More’s hat had corners? Just curious. I wouldn’t want to try to reproduce medieval headgear from a painting.
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Becca, unable to attack the intellect of the man, we are reduced to attack his physical appearance, eh? What a childish statement.
[…] As Kevin Walsh of the St. Thomas More Society of Richmond explains, “the hat was a custom-made replica of the hat depicted in Holbein’s famous portrait of St. Thomas More.” Walsh says the group gave the hat to Scalia when he participated in a November 2010 dinner. […]
[…] Kevin Walsh of the University of Richmond School of Law writes: […]
[…] Scalia has caused quite the stir by attending President Obama’s inauguration ceremony wearing a custom-made replica of the painter’s hat depicted in a famous portrait of St. Thomas More, the well-known Catholic […]
[…] Kevin Walsh, associate professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law, recognized the hat. It was a gift from the St. Thomas More Society of Richmond, Va. Designed to be a replica of a hat […]
[…] There has been quite a bit of talk around the blogosphere and twitterverse about Justice Antonin Scalia’s choice of hats for the Inaugural ceremony earlier this week. Turns out he was given the hat (a replica of the one worn by More in Holbein’s famous sketch) by the St. Thomas More Society of Richmond Virginia. […]
[…] Scalia caused quite the stir by attending President Obama’s inauguration ceremony wearing a custom-made replica of the painter’s hat depicted in a famous portrait of St. Thomas More, the well-known Catholic […]
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